Banking/Savings Section

Abbey Boosts Savings Rate To A Top Notch 7% Gross

August 2006

The Abbey has done a nice favour for its regular savers by boosting the gross interest paid from 6% to 7%. As ever there a few catches - here’s the low-down of the deal.

The Abbey Fixed Rate Monthly Saver Account

• Gross interest per annum is 7%, even though the current Bank of England rate is 4.5%
• To qualify you must make 12 consecutive fixed monthly payments (via standing order) of £20 min, £250 maximum
• If you make a withdrawal or miss a payment (perhaps the standard order bounces) then for that month only 0.75% interest will be paid, the 7% rate will revert the following month
• The savings account is standalone, you don’t have to open any other Abbey account

Summary

It's a great paying savings account but of course the real return is not 7% on your money because a) you can only start with a maximum of £250 and b) the account can only take a maximum of £3,000 over the year (12 x £250). Still, for smaller amounts of money for people who want to save regularly (which is a good habit to learn) there's most probably no better savings account out there on the market today.

Abbey must also be congratulated on raising the interest paid to 7% when most of their competitors are sneakily cutting their interest rates on savings accounts.

See Also

• Abbey.com - Fixed Rate Saver Account Details
• Shocking Inflation News For Higher rate Tax Payers - You Must Earn 5.5% Gross on Cash Just To Break Even - Here's What To Do
• Over 50? You Cannot Beat This Fixed Rate Savings Bond Paying 5.55% For 3 Years
• Top Tip! Manage All Your Online Bank, Savings & Credit Card Accounts From The One Webpage
• Find's list of Savings Accounts