Business bank account experts recently reported that one financial services provider has recently decided to back down from its decision to close its ISA savings offering after vocal criticism.
Financial lender Halifax had announced last week that it had plans to close its Direct Reward ISA to new savers from 18 June. However, the newest announcement from the bank states that it has decided to instead permit new customers to continue taking up the tax-free savings account for the indefinite future.
With a 3 per cent rate of return, the Halifax account has one of the top easy access cash ISA rates available. Unfortunately 2.5 percentage points of that interest rate expire at the end of 12 months, which will undoubtedly prompt savers to switch to another offer in order to avoid getting only a 0.5 per cent return on their investments.
Still, the Halifax Direct Reward ISA has much to recommend it. It differs from other top paying accounts because it allows savers to make existing cash ISA transfers into the new account.
Moreover, the new ISA offering pledges to begin paying the 3 per cent rate on a saver’s funds from the day that it receives his or her completed application form. As most providers will only begin paying interest once a transfer occurrs – which can sometimes take weeks or even months – this could spell significant savings for many.
There are instant access ISAs on the market that pay significantly more than the current Halifax offering, such as Santander’s 3.3 per cent Flexible ISA and the AA’s 3.35 per cent Internet Access ISA. However, neither of these offerings allow transfers, though they both have generous bonus rates that expire after their initial 12 month term.