NatWest to make huge change to millions of accounts within DAYS – and customers need to check now
NATWEST is making a huge change to millions of bank accounts within days – and customers should check if they’re affected.
The major high street bank is slashing interest rates on a host of accounts from May 30.
The move comes after the Bank of England (BoE) slashed its base rate from 4.5% to 4.25% this month – the fourth cut since 2020.
The base rate is charged to smaller high street banks and any falls are usually echoed in savings rates.
NatWest is cutting interest rates on five of its savings accounts from May 30 including its Digital Regular Saver, Flexible Saver and Cash ISA.
Meanwhile, rates on three other savings accounts and a kids current account will be slashed from July 15.
Scroll down to see tables of all the accounts that are affected and their new rates. Meanwhile, this is the full list of impacted accounts:
- Digital Regular Saver (from May 30)
- Flexible Saver (from May 30)
- Savings Builder (from May 30)
- Cash ISA (from May 30)
- Help to Buy ISA (from May 30)
- First Saver (from July 15)
- Adapt Account (from July 15)
- First Reserve (from July 15)
- Primary Savings (from July 15)
How much the interest rates on these accounts will fall depends on how much you have in them.
For example, if you’ve got a Digital Regular Saver, the interest rate will fall from 6.17% AER to 5.5% AER from May 30 on any balances between £1-£5,000.
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) and shows the interest rate if interest is paid and compounded once a year.
For those with more than £5,000 in one of the accounts, the rate will fall from 1.25% AER to 1.15% AER.
Interest rates on the Savings Builder account will fall from 2% to 1.75% for anyone with a balance of between £1 and £10,000 from May 30.
Meanwhile, for balances over £10,000, the interest rate will fall from 1.25% to 1.15%.
NatWest customers with a children’s First Saver account and a balance of more than £1 will see the interest rate fall from 2.25% to 2.05% from July 15.
Meanwhile, if you’ve got a First Reserve account with £1 or more in the account, the interest rate will fall from 1.25% to 1.15%.
A spokesperson for NatWest said: “Following the Bank of England base rate cut, we will be passing on the rate cut in full to our customers on a Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgage.
“SVR will be reduced from 7.49% to 7.24%, effective from June 1.
“SVR customers may also be able to save money by switching to one of our fixed rate mortgages.
“Following the Bank of England base rate cut, we have made reductions to some of our variable rate savings accounts.
“We will communicate these changes to customers in due course, giving at least 14 days’ notice of any changes.
“Details of these changes are available on our website now.”
MAJOR BANKS CUTTING RATES
NatWest has already cut interest rates on a host of its bank accounts twice since the end of 2024.
In December, it dropped the interest rates on its Digital Regular Saver, Flexible Saver and Savings Builder accounts.
Then in March, it cut rates on 11 variable rate savings accounts including its Digital Regular Saver and Flexible Saver again.
Banks and building societies have been reducing interest rates across dozens of accounts in recent months as the BoE continues to cut its base rate.
Nationwide is cutting interest rates on over 60 savings accounts from June 1 including a number of ISAs and easy access accounts.
The Sun also exclusively revealed how Virgin Money is lowering the interest rate on its M Plus Saver account next month.
If you’ve got a savings account with an interest rate set to drop, it’s worth shopping around for a better deal.
Check out comparison sites like moneysavingexpert.com and moneyfactscompare.co.uk to browse the best accounts on the market.
SAVING ACCOUNT TYPES
THERE are four types of savings accounts fixed, notice, easy access, and regular savers.
Separately, there are ISAs or individual savings accounts which allow individuals to save up to £20,000 a year tax-free.
But we’ve rounded up the main types of conventional savings accounts below.
FIXED-RATE
A fixed-rate savings account or fixed-rate bond offers some of the highest interest rates but comes at the cost of being unable to withdraw your cash within the agreed term.
This means that your money is locked in, so even if interest rates increase you are unable to move your money and switch to a better account.
Some providers give the option to withdraw, but it comes with a hefty fee.
NOTICE
Notice accounts offer slightly lower rates in exchange for more flexibility when accessing your cash.
These accounts don’t lock your cash away for as long as a typical fixed bond account.
You’ll need to give advance notice to your bank – up to 180 days in some cases – before you can make a withdrawal or you’ll lose the interest.
EASY-ACCESS
An easy-access account does what it says on the tin and usually allows unlimited cash withdrawals.
These accounts tend to offer lower returns, but they are a good option if you want the freedom to move your money without being charged a penalty fee.
REGULAR SAVER
These accounts pay some of the best returns as long as you pay in a set amount each month.
You’ll usually need to hold a current account with providers to access the best rates.
However, if you have a lot of money to save, these accounts often come with monthly deposit limits.
According to Moneyfacts, Chip is offering the best rate on an easy access savings account, with a rate of 4.77%.
Meanwhile, the best easy access cash ISA is with Trading 212 and offering a rate of 4.86%.
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