Santander launches 4.15% cash Isa for one year fix as major banks return with top rates
Competition on cash Isas is getting fiercer as the big banks return with top rates.
Yesterday Santander launched the best deal on the market: a one-year fixed-rate cash Isa of 4.15 percent fixed until April 1 next year.
It also offers an 18-month version for 4.25 percent and a two-year deal for 4.20 percent.
Top rate: Santander launched the best cash Isa deal on the market – a one-year cash Isa with a fixed interest rate of 4.15%
You can open an account online or in a branch with a minimum of £500. Savers who transfer at least £10,000 to another provider’s fixed rate Isas will receive a £50 e-voucher as a bonus.
The bank has also launched a new issue – number 18 – of its online-only e-ISA at a top variable rate of 3.2 percent.
But beware, the rate only lasts for a year, after which your money is transferred to the bank’s Isa Saver, which pays only 0.6 percent.
If your savings are in the current Isa Saver or older issues of e-Isa, which all pay lower rates, you can ask Santander to transfer it to the new one for a better rate.
In particular, banks have been absent from Isa’s best buys for years, while interest rates remained at record lows in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash.
But many are now waking up to the fact that savers are moving their money and taking advantage of Isas tax-exempt status as rates rise.
Halifax has also launched new fixed rate ISAS, paying 3.9 percent for one year and 4 percent for two years. Both are available online or through the branches.
Smaller banks are also participating. Cynergy Bank increased the rate on its Online Isa issue by 32 to 3.2 percent, while the Marcus Cash Isa rate increased to 3 percent, including a 0.25 point bonus for one year.
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Check out the best Isa cash rates in our savings tables