Zopa Bank has launched an easy-access savings account paying a table-topping rate of 4.75 per cent.
The account is available to new and existing Zopa customers who open or hold Zopa’s current account, called Biscuit. Customers must deposit £500 per month into Biscuit to get a 1.5 per cent fixed bonus for 12 months on Zopa’s standard variable easy access rate which is 3.25 per cent.
It has booted the next best easy-access rate, which pays 4.4 per cent and is offered by Santander-owned Cahoot, down the easy-access savings best buy tables. If a customer does not deposit £500 a month in the Zopa easy-access account, they will only get the standard rate of 3.25 per cent. However, if they deposit £500 the next month the bonus rate will be restored.
Customers can save up to £250,000 total in the account and they can withdraw money as many times as they need with no withdrawal restrictions. If a customer were to deposit £500 a month in the Zopa easy-access account, by the end of 12 months the would have earned around £157 in interest for a total savings balance of arounf £6,157. The easy-access account can be opened by dowloading Zopa’s app and opening a current account. Current account holders will receive a virtual card instantly.
From there customers can open a smart saver with a standard easy access rate of 3.25 per cent. Once £500 has been deposited in the account the bonus of 1.5 per cent will be activated for 12 months. Zopa, which launched its current account in July this year, now counts 150,000 people as current account customers.
Its current account also offers a regular saver paying 7.1 per cent on deposits of up to £300 per month. It also pays 2 per cent interest on current account balances, which is fixed for 12 months and will then become variable.
Customers can earn 2 per cent cashback on bills, on up to £1,500 of direct debits per year, with the rate guaranteed for 12 months. This would earn someone paying in the maximum amount each month £137 in interest over the year, if the rate stays the same.
Interest on the pot is calculated daily and added each month. The account also comes with zero fees on overseas spending, and £200 can be withdrawn abroad over any 30-day period without incurring any charges. Above £200, a two per cent fee will be charged.
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