How savers can boost their easy-access rate and get more than a 2% return

The average easy-access savings rate has risen to the highest level in nine years, with new best buys being announced almost on a weekly basis.

The typical rate is now 0.77 per cent, according to Moneyfacts, up from 0.18 per cent this time last year.

However, the average rate is being dragged down by the big high street banks – there are now 16 providers paying more than 1.5 per cent, including Nationwide, Tesco Bank, Zopa Bank and Aldermore Bank.

Although Al Rayan Bank holds top spot on our independent This is Money best buy table, paying 1.9 per cent, the savings platform, Raisin, is currently offering a way for savers to effectively leapfrog the best deal and bag more than a 2 per cent return.

Raisin* is currently offering a £30 welcome bonus to This is Money readers, but they must open a new Raisin account via this link* or any link originating from our website.

It offers savers the chance to boost their savings by £30 when they open and fund an account on its marketplace with a minimum of £10,000. 

Its best paying easy-access deal is offered by its partner bank, UBL, and pays 1.76 per cent.

For a saver opening their first Raisin account and depositing £10,000 into this deal, that could result in an effective 2.06 per cent return (£206 after one year).

Savers looking for an even better return, albeit whilst avoiding locking their cash away in a fixed rate deal might also want to consider a notice account, of which there are a number on Raisin’s platform.

A notice account is a halfway house between an easy-access and fixed rate account.

They enable savers to withdraw their funds following a notice period, typically ranging between 30 and 120 days, but can offer savers a better return than they might otherwise achieve with an easy-access account.

The best 95 day notice account is offered on Raisin’s platform via UBL.* It currently pays 2.16 per cent.

Someone depositing £10,000 in the account could effectively secure a £246 return after one year with the the £30 bonus included.

Is Raisin worth using?

Being a savings platform, Raisin brings together a host of savings providers under one roof.

Savers can therefore manage all their savings accounts in one place and cut the bureaucracy when moving money between accounts. 

This should not only save customers time and effort but will also enable them to spread their money across different providers, spreading their FSCS coverage in the process.

All of Raisin’s partner banks are fully regulated in the UK and in the event that Raisin ceases trading, deposits would be protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person, per banking group, or up to a similar amount through the equivalent European deposit guarantee scheme. 

This means that savers with lots of cash can easily manage their risk and ensure they have no more than £85,000 with each bank.

Although, Raisin is not whole of market it tends to offer some of the most competitive rates. 

For example, its best one-year deal currently pays 3.15 per cent, which is just 0.11 per cent below the market leading deal.

Its five year deal, which is offered by Tandem Bank is currently the best five-year deal available. 

It is also offering a £25 refer a friend bonus, which means customers can also receive £25 for every person they refer who funds a savings account with £5,000 or more. 

If they successfully refer two friends who go on to fund their Raisin account with £5,000, that could mean securing yourself £50. 

Each of their friends will also receive £25 when they fund a savings account with a minimum duration of six months with £5,000 or more.