Investing platform IG has an offer to help you kick off 2026 with some fireworks. New UK customers can get a whopping 7.5% interest on idle cash when you join the platform and make your first investment by 16 January. Read our “Need to knows” to find out the rest of the details.
After 3 months you would have about £101,824.46.
| Month | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1 | £100,604.49 |
| 2 | £101,212.64 |
| 3 | £101,824.46 |
Capital at risk.
The offer is available to anyone who opens a stocks and shares ISA, SIPP or general investment account (GIA). But as you’d expect with such a blockbuster rate, there are some conditions to be aware of:
Let’s go through those one-by-one.
For new UK customers.
The rate applies to new UK customers, who open a stocks and shares ISA, SIPP, or a GIA by 16 January. You can earn 7.5% interest on all uninvested cash within these accounts. Existing account holders could also be eligible if they haven’t made their first trade yet.
Open your account and make an investment by 16 January.
You need to act fast if you want to capitalise on the offer as you need to open an account and make an investment by 16 January (although the 7.5% rate then applies until the end of March).
Keep an investment position open, have an active Smart Portfolio, or place at least one trade per month.
To continue earning your 7.5% boosted interest rate all the way until the end of March you need to either: keep your original investment trade open, have an active Smart Portfolio, or make at least one trade each month.
Place at least 3 trades to avoid the “custody fee”.
IG’s custody fee is £24 per quarter, but it’s waived if you’ve made three or more trades over the quarter. You’re also automatically exempt from this fee if you invest £15,000 in an IG Smart Portfolio account.
Rate applies until 31 March.
Provided you’ve made a trade, any other money held in cash would earn 7.5% AER interest until 31 March (an investment position must be kept open during this time or hit the other criteria mentioned above). From April, the boosted rate reverts to IG’s standard rate – currently 3.75%.
Earn 7.5% on up to £10,000.
There’s a cap, and it’s £10,000. So, assuming you deposited the maximum amount on 1 January, the most you could earn during the promotional period would be around £184.92. Interest is calculated on daily balances throughout the calendar month, and interest payments are made in the following month.
Investing puts your capital at risk.
When you buy shares in a company, that value (not your uninvested funds) could go up or down, so you may get less (or more) than what you put in.
Realistically, this deal’s not for everybody. The hoops that have to be jumped through will put plenty of people off.
To minimise risk and costs, you could place three small trades (keeping the bulk of your funds as uninvested cash in the account) before 16 January and then close your positions and get out with your interest once the rate boost has ended.
GO TO IG'S SITECapital at risk.
| Uninvested cash at beginning of January | Value at end of March (approx.) |
|---|---|
| £1,000 | £1,018.24 |
| £2,000 | £2,036.49 |
| £3,000 | £3,054.73 |
| £5,000 | £5,091.22 |
| £10,000 | £10,182.45 |
One of the reasons for IG offering this rate is to introduce more people to the world of investing (specifically with IG).
It’s a loss-leader for IG, and it’s certainly an attention grabbing rate – coming at a time when interest rates are trending downwards after a decent stint of being pretty high. In return for giving that boosted rate, IG gets a chance to educate savers about investing.
All in all, the interest rate offered by IG is great if you’re looking for short-term boosted interest rate on a balance of less than £10,000.
However, you need to make an investment to qualify, so you need to jump through some hoops and understand the risks of investing, IG isn’t a bank. You do need to make or have an open investment for the full period, so ensure you’re informed on what you want to invest in, as well as being aware of the potential fees attached.
It’s also important that you carefully look through IG's T&Cs yourself before opening an account and investing.
GO TO IG'S SITECapital at risk.
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