Savings provider launches new 5.5% easy-access best buy – do you qualify for it?

Skipton Building Society has launched an easy-access savings account for its members which pays a market-leading rate of 5.5 per cent.

The easy-access account is only available to Skipton members who held a savings account or mortgage with the society as of yesterday, 11 January.

This means 1.2million people will qualify for the 5.5 per cent easy-access account, which is higher than the base rate.

Another major snag is the maximum amount that can pour into the deal is £3,000. 

Exclusive: The 5.5% easy-access account is only available to Skipton members 

The rate beats the current best easy-access account by 0.3 percentage points, which is offered by Ulster Bank.

That Ulster deal only offers the top 5.2 per cent on balances over £5,000. 

And snag three on the Skipton account is that it includes a bonus rate which gives the member easy-access account a 1.7 per cent uplift from Skipton’s standard easy-access account, which pays 3.8 per cent.

The member easy-access rate of 5.5 per cent reverts to the standard easy-access rate of 3.8 per cent when the bonus wears off after 12 months.

The account can be opened with £1 and there is a maximum deposit amount of £3,000 which is very low compared to other easy-access savers. You can’t deposit more than £3,000 in the account. 

Interest is accrued daily, and will be paid annually, the day before the anniversary of the account being opened.

As for whether the move could spark off competition among easy-access providers, Andrew Hagger, founder of personal finance website MoneyComms says: ‘It’s a good rate but I don’t see it influencing the wider savings market as the product is restricted as it’s only available to existing Skipton Building Society customers.  

‘Also the maximum balance threshold of £3,000 is quite low – to put it into perspective, most of the current best buy easy access accounts allow a maximum balance of £1million.’

Savings experts expect easy-access rates to hold at their current levels of 5 per cent to 5.1 per cent until the Bank of England announces a cut in the base rate, which could be later this year.  

In addition to launching the member easy-access saver, Skipton is also relaunching its regular saver for members, with more than 70,000 members opening the previous issue of the account.

The relaunched regular saver is available to any individual who was a member of Skipton Building Society as of yesterday, 11 January and pays a rate of 7 per cent. 

This account can’t be opened by members who already have the previous issue of the Member Regular Saver.

Building Societies dominate the best buy tables for regular savers. Nationwide Building Society has a regular saver paying a market-leading rate of 8 per cent.

Alex Sitaras, of Skipton Building Society, says: ‘We want being a member at Skipton to really mean something, whether you’re using one of our savings accounts to get set for the future, or you’ve used one of our mortgages to buy your home.

‘Launching our new Member Bonus Saver today, alongside the relaunch of our in-demand Member Regular Saver, gives our members more choice and ultimately more value from their association with Skipton.

‘Our new Member Bonus Saver has the best rate of any easy-access account out there, so it’s a natural choice for any Skipton member looking for an amazing rate of interest along with flexible access to their cash if they need it.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk