The CEO urged new customers to be vigilant (Image: Wealthify )
A CEO has called out banks who entice new customers with high interest rates only to slash them once introductory offers are over.
CEO Richard Ambrose has urged Brits to think carefully about where they save their cash and to make sure they avoid falling-foul of promotional offers that end up far less impressive than they first seem.
The financial boss suggested Wealthify’s Instant Access Savings Account as a great example of one which offers a steady, competitive interest rate that isn’t going to drop dramatically after an arbitrary cut-off point. “Wealthify’s Instant Access Savings Account, powered by our partner Clearbank, offers a competitive interest rate that tracks at 0.45% below the Bank of England’s base rate. We don’t mess customers around by dropping the rate sharply after an introductory period like many companies do,” Mr Ambrose said.
“This means that customers can feel comfortable that they are getting a consistently good deal without having to constantly shop around.
“In the Financial Conduct Authority’s latest savings market review, the average rate paid on Instant and Easy Access savings accounts was 1.99% — well below the Bank of England’s base rate, which at the time was 5.25%. Millions of Brits have been missing out by sticking with low- interest accounts. In fact, Wealthify found that 16 million Brits have never switched their savings account provider, a move which has cost them each up to £426 per year.’’
Wealthify’s CEO says the company (Image: Wealthify)
At the time of writing, the Bank of England’s base rate was 4.75% – giving Instant Access Savings Account customers a rate of 4.39% AER / 4.30% gross p.a (variable). Much more so now than at any time in recent years, it is important to check what savings rate you’ve got. Long gone are the days when you didn’t need to worry about what interest rate you’re benefiting from.
For more than a decade following the 2008 financial crisis, interest rates were historically low as central banks across the world tried to get people spending and the economy going. This all came to a juddering halt in the years during and following the coronavirus pandemic when higher goods and energy prices, as well as bottlenecks in global supply chains, led to high rates of inflation not seen in decades in the UK. In response, the country’s Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates to make it more expensive to borrow money, more attractive to save and less attractive to spend.
Wealthify is clear about the interest rate it offers (Image: Wealthify)
While the policy has helped to cut inflation from the 40-year-high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 1.7% now – meaning your money isn’t being devalued at such a high rate – if you want your cash to go as far as possible, it may be wise to make the most of savings accounts with high interest rates which remain on the market.
Information in this article was correct at the time of publication.
The minimum funding for Instant Access Savings Account is £1 and interest is paid monthly. Find out more at Wealthify.com. Terms and conditions can also be found on Wealthify’s website. Savings Account is powered by ClearBank. Wealthify Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 662530). Over 18s, UK residents and UK taxpayers only. ClearBank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (No. 754568). Across all your ClearBank products, up to £85,000 of eligible deposits is protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).Tax treatments depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.