Existing savers will see their interest rate drop from 0.5% AER, which had been a best buy rate, to 0.4% AER from 1 April. Customers are currently being written to about the change and will be given at least 14 days’ notice. New customers who apply for the account will get the lower 0.4% AER rate from today (16 March).
The rate change applies to all Marcus savers regardless of whether they’ve previously benefitted from a bonus rate in the past. Marcus says it removed its bonus rate in December 2019, with all existing bonuses ending by December 2020.
Yet despite the rate cut to 0.4% AER, Marcus is still the top truly easy-access savings account for those looking to open and manage their money online. UBL UK pays a slightly higher rate of 0.45% AER, though you’re limited to one withdrawal a month and you need to open your account by post or in branch.
Easy-access rates have dropped sharply over the past few months, though there are a couple of special accounts for small amounts of money that can pay up to 2%. You can find out more in our Easy-Access Savings guide. You can get slightly more for your money if you consider fixing – see our Top Fixed-Rate Accounts guide for further details.
The Marcus account, operated by investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, has consistently offered one of the top easy-access savings rates since its launch in September 2018, when it had a market leading rate of 1.5% AER, including a fixed rate bonus of 0.15% for 12 months.
But its rate has consistently dropped over the past two and a half years. As recently as early October 2020 it had a rate of 1.05% AER. But that fell to 0.7% AER on 12 October and then to 0.5% AER on 11 December.
