Martin Lewis' MSE warns Santander customers to 'close' their bank account
Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has said Santander has cut the rate on its popular easy-access savings account again. Santander has cut the rate on its popular easy-access savings account – which paid 5.2% at launch – to 4% from today (Tuesday 1 October).
MSE, which was founded by the BBC and ITV star, said: "Yet you can easily beat this new rate by switching elsewhere – which you're allowed to do without penalty. The rate cut applies to Santander's 'Easy Access Saver Limited Edition (Issue 3)', which is no longer open to newbies."
It said: "You can easily beat Santander's new rate by switching elsewhere. The flip side of Santander's rate being variable is that you're not locked in and don't have to stick with it – you can ditch and switch. Remember: as with all easy-access accounts, the rates below are AER variable; they can and do change, so you need to monitor them."
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MSE said the top-paying easy-access account right now is a cash ISA at 5.1%. For standard easy-access with unlimited withdrawals, the top payer is Oxbury at 4.87%. It comes a week after Santander made reductions to selected fixed rates across its purchase, remortgage, and buy-to-let range by up to 0.29%. The full list of new rates, which includes five, three, and two-year fixed rate purchase mortgages below 4.00%.
At the time, Graham Sellar, Head of Mortgage Development at Santander, said: “We know how hard people work to afford their home and as the property market continues to warm up, we are pleased to deliver this range of rate cuts, which should support more buyers in affording their home.”
Santander is rivalled by the likes of NatWest and HSBC UK as well as Lloyds Bank and Nationwide, which is the largest building society in the Uk.