Savings accounts

A savings account is a secure place to put money you do not plan to spend right away in order to earn interest on the balance – the more money you save, the more interest you earn. Your financial provider will pay either a variable or fixed interest rate on your balance for the term of your savings account. At The Co-operative Bank our range of savings accounts and ISAs offers different options for accessing your money: instant access, limited access and no access. Use our filters to compare our accounts and find our best savings account for you and your needs.

There is no limit on the number of savings accounts a person can hold. However, there can be limits to the deposits and the balances you can hold in them dependent on the type of savings account and their terms and conditions. Cash ISAs, for example, only permit a maximum of £20,000 deposit per tax year. Whereas other savings accounts can limit how much you deposit or how many times you withdraw.

Before opening any savings account research our best savings account for you based on your personal circumstances and choose the products that will benefit your goals. Use our filters to help you compare our range of savings accounts to find our best savings account for you and your needs.

You can open and pay into multiple cash ISAs per tax year. You can also keep cash ISAs from previous years open and pay into them.

Please note: while The Co-operative Bank does not allow customers to pay into multiple cash ISAs with them in the same tax year, customers are able to subscribe with The Co-operative Bank as well as other providers in the same tax year.

If you wish to transfer a cash ISA from the current or previous tax year your current provider must allow this. It’s important to read any terms and conditions before deciding to transfer or open a new cash ISA.

We have a range of savings accounts to meet your needs and depending on the type of account you choose you can apply through various channels including branch, telephone, online and by post. Compare and find out more about the accounts we offer and how to apply. You will need to meet the eligibility criteria and may need to provide identification either digitally or in person.

Will a credit check be carried out if I apply for a savings account?

Interest is the amount a bank will agree to pay depositors (usually expressed as a percentage rate) in return for deposits placed with them.

There are two types of calculated interest:

Compound – is the interest you earn from your original deposit combined with the interest you’ve earned so far. It means you can keep earning interest on previous years’ interest. For example if you deposit £1,000 into a savings account that offers a fixed interest rate of 5% and pays interest annually you will earn £50 in interest in the first year giving you £1,050. On the second year if you don’t make any withdrawals or deposits you will earn 5% interest on £1,050 which means you will earn £52.50 interest and your balance at the end of year two will be £1,102.50. You will have earned interest on your original deposit and also the interest you earned in year one.

Simple – interest is calculated on the original deposit sum only. If you deposit £5,000 into an account that pays 5% you will earn £250 in interest every year, at the end of year two you would have £500.

Your savings account can also have an applicable variable, fixed or tracker interest rate.

Variable – with a variable rate it means that the rate paid could go up or down at the choice of the bank at any time – for example the bank may decide to change the rate to respond to changes in market interest rates or changes in other costs faced by the bank.

Tracker – the rate paid to you could go up or down automatically following a change to the reference rate being tracked – for example a savings product that pays a rate linked to the Bank of England base rate would usually automatically change following a change in the base rate.

Read about our Base Rate Tracker savings account.

Fixed – means the interest rate stays the same throughout the term of the product. They are generally short term deposits ranging anywhere from a month to a few years.

Each individual saver has a Personal Savings Allowance which is the amount of interest they can earn tax-free in a tax year. The amount depends on their other taxable income.

You can read more guidance on this on our Personal Savings Allowance information page.

As the original ethical bank, it’s our ongoing commitment to our planet, our people and our communities that underpins who we are and how we operate. Founded in 1872, we were born from the co-operative movement and it’s these values that led us to become the first high-street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy. It empowers us to make a positive difference to the world around us.

We are proud to be transparent about the way we do business, who we do business with and how we operate. You can learn more about what matters to us, our customers and our colleagues in our Environmental, Social and Governance approach or how we run our business.

Find out more about managing your ISA:

ISA allowances.

What happens if I put too much money in my Cash ISA?

Do I need to open a new Cash ISA each tax year?

Can I transfer my Stocks and Shares ISA to your Cash ISA?

Do I get a cash card or deposit book with a Cash ISA?

If someone dies, what happens to their ISA?

The Bank of England base rate is one of a number of things we look at when reviewing the interest rates of our savings accounts.

Find general information on Bank of England base rate here.

Find out how the Bank of England base rate affects your savings accounts.