Marcus Bank ups rates on its easy-access savings account and cash Isa: Savers can now earn 1% including existing customers
- Its online savings account and cash Isa rise from 0.6% to 0.9%
- It continues to offer a 0.1% bonus rate for one year making it a 1% deal
- Marcus also reset the 12 months bonus for existing savers so all can benefit
- One expert says Marcus Bank’s next rate rise may come as soon as next month
Marcus Bank has boosted the rate on its popular easy-access savings account and cash Isa deal.
It means it now offers one of best easy-access rates while its cash Isa deal now tops our independent best buy league table.
The Goldman Sachs backed bank has upped the rates on its online savings account and cash Isa from 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent.
However, as it continues to offer a 0.1 per cent bonus rate for one year, this effectively means savers will secure 1 per cent on both deals for the first 12 months.
The Goldman Sachs backed bank has increased both its easy-access account and cash Isa.
Cash is protected up to £85,000 per individual by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and in the case of joint savings accounts that doubles to £170,000.
Existing customers will get the 0.3 per cent uplift added automatically, but need to log-in to their account to add the extra 0.1 per cent bonus.
For those that have already boosted their account previously, the bonus rate will expire sooner depending on when they added it to their account.
However, Marcus have reset the 12 months bonus for existing savers meaning savers can log on to their Marcus dashboard, click ‘view’ on their online savings and then ‘review their savings’ which will show them the option to renew their bonus term.
| Date | Rate |
|---|---|
| 27/9/2018 | 1.5% |
| 10/3/2020 | 1.45% |
| 7/5/2020 | 1.35% |
| 30/5/2020 | 1.2% |
| 4/9/2020 | 1.05% |
| 12/10/2020 | 0.7% |
| 11/12/2020 | 0.5% |
| 16/3/2021 | 0.4% |
| 1/7/2021 | 0.4%* |
| 29/9/2021 | 0.5%* |
| 09/03/2022 | 0.6%* |
| 08/04/2022 | 0.9%* |
| Source: Savings Champion/This is Money *Savers can opt into 0.1% rate boost | |
The average savings balance in the UK is around £12,500, according to research by Paragon Bank.
Someone stashing £12,500 in the Marcus account could expect to earn £125 in interest after one year.
There are still some big banks offering as little as 0.01 per cent, despite recent base rate rises.
It’s also worth pointing out that no savings account currently gets anywhere near inflation, which is currently measured at 6.2 per cent.
How does the account work?
New customers can open an account with £1 and can deposit up to £250,000 into the account.
You can add and withdraw money as and when you want, but it’s worth being aware that there is a limit of £20,000 a day online – although there is an option to call in if you need to withdraw more.
The account can only be opened and managed online and any money paid in or out of the account must be done so via a linked UK current account.
It’s also worth noting that the account can be opened jointly by up to two people, however, you can’t convert an existing Marcus account into a joint one.
How does its easy-access deal compare and will it rise further?
At 1 per cent, Marcus Bank’s popular everyday savings account sits very competitively near the top of our independent This is Money’s best buy table.
Tandem Bank and Cynergy Bank both offer easy access deals paying 1.1 per cent, while Al Rayan bank pays 1.01 per cent and Zopa Bank matches Marcus at 1 per cent.
Two alternative easy-access savings options for savers are offered by Chase Bank and Virgin Money.
Chase is paying 1.5 per cent on its linked savings account on balances up to £250,000, whilst Virgin Money current account customers have access to a savings rate of 1 per cent on balances up to £25,000.
However in both cases, savers will need to set up a current account with either Chase or Virgin Money to benefit.
James Blower, founder of The Savings Guru believes that due to the gap that still exists between Marcus and the top, there is a good chance that another rate rise will be coming the way of its customers in the not too distant future.
‘It was inevitable that Marcus would have to move to respond to what was happening in general in the easy access market,’ says Blower
‘They’d dropped outside of the top 15 providers, in part due to the arrival of Chase with its 1.5 per cent linked easy access account. Even at 1 per cent it’s still beaten by some other providers.
‘It remains to be seen if it’s enough to compete with Chase but I suspect it isn’t and that we will see a further rise next month from Marcus.’
What about the cash Isa deal?
Marcus Bank’s 1 per cent cash Isa deal is currently the best deal on the market for those looking to shield their interest from being taxed.
The next best easy-access cash Isa deal on the market is offered by Shawbrook Bank paying 0.92 per cent.
It’s also worth noting that Bath Building Society is technically offering the highest deal available paying 1.09 per cent. However, this is only open to those who live locally.