Latest news with #savingsaccounts
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Nationwide making huge change to bank accounts used by thousands within HOURS
NATIONWIDE is making a huge change to bank accounts used by thousands of customers within hours. The nation's biggest building society is overhauling its Business Savings accounts, and the changes will restrict how customers manage their money. 1 From July 30, businesses customers will no longer be able to pay money into their savings accounts using cheques. Nationwide will also tighten its rules on payments into and out of these accounts. Businesses will only be allowed to deposit money into their account from a single Nominated Account or via internal transfers from other Nationwide business savings accounts under the same business name. Similarly, withdrawals will now be restricted to transfers to another Nationwide account or a single designated Nominated Account. Nationwide provides three main Business savings accounts for companies with a turnover of less than £10million. These include an instant access account, which allows unlimited withdrawals, and three notice accounts with notice periods ranging from 35 to 125 days. Plus, Nationwide offers three fixed rate bonds, letting businesses lock their savings away for six months, one year, or 18 months. Savings rates range from 1.7% to 3.5%. However, due to "high demand" these accounts are not currently accepting new customers directly. Instead customers can indirectly sign up via savings platforms like Insignis. Switch bank accounts for free perks A spokesperson for Nationwide said: "Customers can continue to open new business savings accounts via our cash savings platform partners. "We continue to provide direct support to our existing customers. "Recently, we've made a few updates to cheque processing and payment options, guided by how customers are using these services and demand. "We're committed to supporting customers through these changes." How do I switch bank accounts? SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up - there's a full list on CASS' website. Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days. You don't have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you. All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you're moving. There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account. You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements. When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society. Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts. And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts - but these accounts might come with a monthly fee. What other bank account changes are on the way? Santander customers have been left outraged after the bank revealed it will start charging £120 a year for an account it promised would be "free forever". Thousands of small business and self-employed account holders are facing £9.99 monthly charges from October. This comes despite written assurances that their accounts would always remain free of fees. The changes will impact three types of business accounts: 1|2|3 Business Current Accounts, Business Everyday Current Accounts, and Business Current Accounts. The "free forever" promise applied to accounts offered by Abbey and Alliance & Leicester before the 2008 merger with Santander. The bank first attempted to introduce fees for these accounts in 2012 but backed down after customers threatened legal action. However, these accounts were shifted to the Business Everyday account in 2015, which did not include the "free forever" promise. From October 1, these accounts will be closed, and customers will be automatically switched to Santander's new Business Current Account – Classic. Under the new structure, every Business Current Account – Classic will incur a £9.99 monthly fee, regardless of the type of account customers previously held. While some accounts were free, others offered additional benefits with charges as high as £40 per month. The bank is also closing its 123 Lite current account, which offers up to 3% cashback on household bills for a £2 monthly fee, on August 21. Customers affected by the closure will be automatically switched to Santander's Everyday Current Account. This account has no monthly fee but does not include cashback benefits. Meanwhile, NatWest is making changes to its business current accounts by increasing fees for cash payments, cheque transactions, and certain online transfers. From August 30, cash payments into and out of business accounts will see their fees surge from 70p per £100 to 95p per £100. Cheque payments, whether processed by hand or via mobile, will also jump from 70p to 75p per cheque. The bank is also increasing some charges related to its BACS payment system. The BACS system is a UK payment network used by businesses to make electronic bank-to-bank transfers, such as Direct Debits and Direct Credits. The fee for processing each individual payment or instruction, will soon rise from 18p to 21p. The cost to process a file containing multiple payments or instructions will also increase slightly from £5.25 to £5.35.
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Today's High-Yield Savings Rates for July 28, 2025: Up to 4.66%
Pay attention to restrictions that sometimes come with HYSAs. For example, some savings accounts limit the number of withdrawals and transactions you can complete in a month. Others might require a minimum deposit to open an account or have limits on your APY based on your balance. How traditional savings accounts work Traditional savings accounts work the same as HYSAs. However, unlike high-yield accounts that are often found online with no brick-and-mortar branches, traditional savings accounts are usually held at banks that have physical branches. In some cases, you can get above-average yields with more traditional accounts held at local credit unions and community banks with physical locations, but often the best savings rates are found with online-only accounts. Traditional savings accounts might have transaction limits, deposit requirements and tiered rates based on your balance. HYSA dependency on Fed rate The Federal Reserve meets eight times a year to announce its benchmark federal-funds rate (sometimes called the Fed rate). This is the rate banks charge each other for short-term lending. High-yield savings accounts are highly dependent on the Fed rate. When the target rate rises, savings yields generally rise as well. For savers, this can mean higher returns for letting their money sit at a bank or credit union. On the other hand, when the Fed cuts its benchmark rate, yields tend to fall. Savings yields can fluctuate regularly, but they are most likely to significantly change when the Federal Reserve announces a cut or increase of its benchmark rate.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
£275m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours
Almost £275 million worth of government-allocated funds is being 'hidden' from disadvantaged young people and going unclaimed, charities have warned. Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts for people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, which they can access when they turn 18. Children received around £250 each from the government at the time their CTF was started, or £500 if they were from low-income families or in local authority care. A second top-up was added when the child turned seven years old for those who qualified for Disability Living Allowance between 6 April 2009 and 5 April 2011, or turned seven between 1 September 2009 and 31 July 2010. The accounts could also be added to by a parent, with the average amount held in CTFs totalling around £2,000. If no action was taken by families to claim the accounts when they were set up, they were allocated by HMRC. However, according to The Share Foundation, a charity that helps track down unclaimed funds, more than £400 million is sitting unclaimed in HMRC-allocated accounts waiting for people to claim them. And more than half of the accounts belong to young adults on low incomes, with £274 million meant for disadvantaged young people left unclaimed. The charity has warned that if no action is taken, there will be nearly £1bn lying dormant and unclaimed for low-income young adults by the end of this parliament. Dawn Smith, 21, said her Child Trust Fund helped her achieve the best grade possible at university, where she was later offered her first job. However, she said it took her over a year to access her fund due to a name change. 'My parents were aware of it, but we had no idea where it was or how much money was in it – we knew nothing,' she said. She then searched online and found The Share Foundation, which helped her to claim her fund. The Share Foundation is calling on the government to implement a new automatic release mechanism to ensure all HMRC-allocated funds are paid out when account holders turn 21 - without the need for them to make a claim. Ms Smith told The Independent: 'I managed to claim mine in the second year of university. I studied music at university in London, which was very expensive. While my parents were doing as much as they could, once I got that trust fund, it all went towards uni. 'It went towards my equipment and anything I could use to get the best grade possible. I used it for things that were very needed at the time. 'It's helped me invest in my future. With having that trust fund helping me do so well, the uni has actually offered me a job, so I'll be a tutor for them.' Chairman of The Share Foundation, Gavin Oldham, described the money as being 'hidden' from young people. He said: 'The government has no funding for low-income young people, not because it lacks intent, but because it lacks the means. So why not release the £400 million that is currently sat unclaimed in HMRC-allocated Child Trust Funds belonging to young people aged 21 or over? 'This would provide an immediate resolution at no cost to them - and £274 million of this would be delivered immediately to low-income young people.' The proposed changes would mean that if an unclaimed HMRC-allocated fund matched the national insurance number of someone either claiming benefits, on a payroll or student loan system, the money would be released to the corresponding accounts. Lord David Blunkett, who has also called for changes to be made, told The Independent: 'A simple means of releasing the money directly to them using modern technology is a no-brainer. The trawl for contact details would be the same as banks uses when checking for 'unclaimed assets' and cross-reference with national insurance numbers would also help. 'Not only would this be a boon to the young people concerned at a moment when they need it most, but also an injection of cash into local economies across the country, which is bound to help the overall economy.' An HMRC spokesperson said it works closely with providers to support young people to track their funds down and every young person is sent information about finding their account with their National Insurance letter. The Treasury has been contacted for a comment. To find your CTF, the government website advises you to contact your provider directly, if you know who the account is with. If you don't, you can ask HMRC or contact The Share Foundation for help here:
Sky News
23-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Savings Guide: ISAs take 'battering' - but best five-year bond launched for months
There are plenty of savings accounts to choose from, ranging from easy access to fixed-rate bonds. Savers now have more options to beat inflation. For this week's savings guide, Anna Bowes, personal finance expert from The Private Office, reviews the best options on the market... Easy access The top easy access rate on offer is still 5% AER - that's through the Chase saver, with a boosted rate of 2.25% for 12 months. Its underlying rate is variable, so if we see the base interest rate cut over the next few months, this could well fall. Elsewhere, Atom Bank has reduced its Reward Saver Account from 4.75% to 4.60%. The new rate is still competitive, although the access is extremely restricted. Make more than one withdrawal a year, and the rate will fall to 2.5%. Cahoot's Simple Saver is still offering the top unrestricted easy access account that doesn't require you to open a current account with them too, paying 4.55% AER. But after 12 months, any remaining funds in this account will be transferred to a Cahoot Savings Account, which currently pays only 1.20% AER. For those who want a straightforward, easy access account, the Family Building Society could be your top choice, even though it's no longer in our top five. It's paying 4.52% AER and you can only withdraw up to £25,000 a day. Fixed-rate bonds The best one-year fixed rate on offer is still with financial app provider Prosper, via Al Rayan bank, which has a bond paying 4.6%. This is a Sharia-compliant account, which means that rather than an interest rate, the rate offered is an Expected Profit Rate (EPR) - so it is not guaranteed. That said, Al Rayan has always paid out the EPRs and if the worst should happen and it drops the rate, it would offer penalty-free access to the bond, paying the original promoted EPR up to that point. Most importantly, the funds deposited are fully protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). GB Bank is still offering the top traditional fixed-rate bond but the rate has dropped slightly to 4.53%, from 4.58%. The five-year table has seen the most activity this week, with the top rates now higher than they were a week ago. Chetwood Bank launched a new bond paying 4.5%, taking it to the top of the table, pushing DF Capital into second place. But Birmingham Bank wanted in on the action and launched a market-leading account paying 4.51%, which is the highest rate we've seen since the beginning of May. Fixed-rate cash ISAs The top one-year ISA is slightly higher than a week ago, after the introduction of a one-year cash ISA from Tembo paying 4.27%. The top two-year ISA rates have taken the biggest battering, with Vanquis dropping the rate it's offering from 4.23% to 4.18%. United Trust Bank has also dropped its rate from 4.20% to 4.16%. Easy access cash ISAs The freeze on activity in the easy access cash ISA table has continued, and all of our top five are the same as they have been since early July this year.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Best savings interest rates today, July 15, 2025 (Earn up to 4.3% APY)
The Federal Reserve reduced its target interest rate three times in 2024. As a result, high-yield savings account rates have been falling. That said, some of the best accounts still pay above 4% APY. In order to get the highest interest rate possible on your savings, it's important to do your research and find competitive offers. Not sure where to start? Here's a closer look at savings interest rates today and where you can find the best ones. The average interest rate on a traditional savings account is only 0.42%, according to the FDIC. However, the best savings rates can be found on high-yield accounts, which often pay much more. As of July 15, 2025, the highest savings account rate available from our partners is 4.3% APY. This rate is offered by EverBank, which requires requires no minimum opening deposit and Openbank, which requires a minimum opening deposit of $500. Here is a look at some of the best savings rates available today from our verified partners: Over the last decade, savings account interest rates have fluctuated quite a bit. From 2010 to about 2015, rates were rock-bottom, hovering at around 0.06% to 0.10%. This was largely due to the 2008 financial crisis and the Federal Reserve's decision to lower its target rate to near zero in order to spur economic growth. From 2015 to 2018, interest rates began to increase gradually. However, they remained low by historical standards. Then the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to another sharp decrease in rates as the Fed once again cut rates to stimulate the economy. This brought average savings interest rates down to new lows, around 0.05% to 0.06% by mid-2021. Since then, savings account rates have recovered considerably, largely driven by the Fed's interest rate hikes in response to skyrocketing inflation. However, the Fed finally lowered the federal funds rate in September, November, and December 2024, and as a result, deposit rates are beginning to fall as well. The following is a look at how savings interest rates have changed over the past decade: Despite the fact that interest rates have risen substantially since 2021, the average savings account rate is still fairly low, especially compared to market investments. If you're saving for a long-term goal such as a child's education or retirement, a savings account probably won't generate the returns needed to reach your goal. On the other hand, if you're saving for an emergency fund, home down payment, vacation, or other short-term goal, a high-yield savings account is ideal — especially if you want to access the funds as needed. Other types of deposit accounts, including money markets and CDs, may offer similar or even better rates, but restrict how often you can make withdrawals. The key is to shop around and find an account that provides a competitive rate with low or no fees.
