Savers hunting for the best place to put their money while interest rates remain reasonably high have faced a huge range of options over the last two years – and as we hit ISA season, competition for your cash is cranking up again, with five providers offering new or improved deals.
Plenty of new ISA providers have sprung up over the past few years but familiar and recent names alike are switching up their offers, including Tesco and Skipton Building Society.
The benefits of using a cash ISA are clear: no tax payable on the interest earned, regardless of amounts, and you can put in up to £20,000 a year for now.
That will change from April 2027, capped at £12,000 (the rest can go into other ISA types), but if you’d even been putting in £150 – nowhere near enough to max your allowance – you’d still have been able to save up more than £21,000 after a decade, assuming an average 3 per cent interest rate.
Unfortunately, interest rates don’t stay flat and predictable like that in real life – but right now there are plenty of places offering above 4 per cent in ISAs and normal saving accounts alike, so it’s a good idea to make the most of them and put your cash to work, Tesco Bank research suggests around two in five savers (41 per cent) are looking to move money to the best rates before the 5 April deadline when annual allowances reset.
Here’s a rundown of all the latest deals and new cash ISA products on offer.
Newly boosted cash ISA rates
First up, Tesco Bank have increased the rate on their Instant Access Cash ISA to 3.97 per cent.
For those who want the familiar name and a decent rate it might be a compelling one, even if sitting just below the 4 per cent threshold makes it slightly out of touch with the market leaders.
It’s important to note that many ISA rates are in two parts now: the underlying rate (which moves with Bank of England rate changes) and a bonus, which is often fixed for 12 months, as in the case with Tesco’s deal. So the total rate is always a variable one, which could come down if we get rate cuts.
There are other factors you should consider for which ISA is right for you.
The Tesco one for example is a flexible ISA: you can withdraw money and put it back in without affecting your current-year allowance, as long as it’s cash you deposited this tax year (2025-26) and you put it back in before the deadline. Additionally, this offer is available to those transferring ISAs in from elsewhere – but if you’re doing this make sure you use the right process so your money maintains its tax-free allowance.
All providers will tell you exactly how to do this in their opening terms.
Chris Henderson, save and pay director at Tesco Bank, said: “At a time when we know people will be shopping around in the next few weeks to boost their savings before the start of April, we’re pleased to offer both new and existing customers an increased rate. Cash ISAs are a savvy way to build up your savings over time, while benefitting from the tax advantages they offer.”
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As noted though, the Tesco rate isn’t the highest.
Right now, Trading 212 have the best one available for cash ISAs with no minimum amount restrictions.
With a bonus code which you can get here, the rate is 4.43 per cent – but note that transfers are not allowed in this case. The bonus is for 12 months and that top rate applies to current-year contributions only, while this is also a flexible ISA.
Their rate is an inch ahead of the 4.42 per cent now available from Plum.
Best rate on market – if you have the money
Last week, a new deal came on the market which offers even higher than Trading 212, but there is a limiting factor involved for some people.
Prosper launched a cash ISA paying 4.5 per cent – that’s equal to the highest “normal” savings account we’ve been able to find – but you can only open it with a minimum of £10,000 and transfers are not allowed.
That means you’d need half your annual allowance free and have that money available to put into savings to get the benefit right now.
New options to consider
Finally, there are two very different brands who have just brought out new ISAs to think about.
Skipton Building Society have launched an Annual Allowance Cash ISA (that’s just the name of the product, nothing very different about it to the others) which has a 3.92 per cent rate for new customers and a 4.02 per cent rate for existing Skipton customers.
You are a customer if you have a Savings Share account or a mortgage with the building society.
You cannot transfer in from elsewhere but it is a flexible ISA, and you can move money into it which is already within Skipton from this tax year.
Flagstone, on the other hand, is more of an ISA marketplace: you hold your account with them, but your cash actually sits with a choice of different banking partners. There are four currently available but Flagstone say there will be more options coming before April.
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The best rate available right now is 3.56 per cent with Paragon, which isn’t up among the best, but the advantage you’d have is an ability to quickly see and move your money to different places if another option came up.
John Martin, CPO at Flagstone, said: “Cash ISAs have become the nation’s favourite savings option; but somewhere along the way, they’ve lost some of their appeal for customers with large sums to save. Many of these savers know that the tax advantages of Cash ISAs are too good to miss, but the inconvenience of optimising so many accounts in so many different places stops them from ensuring their tax-free cash works as hard as it could.”
Naturally, it could work harder if it was somewhere with a higher rate – but perhaps not needing to transfer to completely different companies will appeal to some savers.