Sainsbury's Finance's Online Saver pays rate of 3 percent Gross AER 
(17/09/2009)
New research commissioned by Sainsbury’s Finance reveals that only 3% of instant access and notice accounts pay 3.0% Gross AER or more on balances of £1,000. Furthermore, only 21.4% of these top paying accounts offer interest on a monthly and annual basis.
Sainsbury’s Finance has announced the launch of a new online savings account paying an attractive rate of 3.0% Gross AER (variable). The new account, called Online Saver, can be opened and managed online.
Sainsbury’s Online Saver will pay 3.0% on all deposit balances from £1,000 to £500,000 for 12 months from account opening, providing the saver does not make more than three withdrawals in the 12-month period. If the number of withdrawals exceeds three during the 12-month period or the balance falls below £1,000 or goes above £500,000, the interest rate reverts to the account’s standard rate of interest of 0.5% Gross AER.
David Black, Banking Specialist at Defaqto Limited, commented: “The average rate paid by instant and easy access savings accounts is currently 0.85% gross, so the 3.00% rate offered by Sainsbury’s looks to be a very good deal for those who are confident that they can maintain a balance of at least £1,000 and make no more than three withdrawals over the course of a year.”
Helen Cook, Head of Savings at Sainsbury’s Finance said: “Despite a competitive savings market, our analysis shows that there are very few savings accounts paying rates of interest of 3.0%, so our new Online Saver account is extremely attractive.”
Sainsbury's Finance has its own banking licence, is separately regulated by the Financial Services Authority and has an independent membership to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Related categories: Invest in Financial products
