Barclays offers customers free £500 to switch Cash ISA savings | Personal Finance | Finance
Barclays has launched a new savings-switch incentive, offering up to £500 to people who transfer their money into one of the bank’s Cash ISAs.
The promotion will run until November 28, and people will receive different payment rewards depending on how much they transfer. Sian McIntyre, head of savings at Barclays, said: “We know that many people want the security of a Cash ISA but also the confidence that their money is working as hard as possible for them. We’re therefore delighted to launch an offer that rewards the nation’s savers.”
To be eligible, savers must hold or open a Barclays current account and use the ISA transfer-in service. They also have to transfer a minimum of £25,000 from a non-Barclays ISA to one of Barclays’ Cash ISA products.
The reward customers receive will be based on the amount transferred. People who transfer anything between £25,000 and £49,999.99 will receive a £100 reward. Those who transfer anything between £50,000 and £99,999.99 will be rewarded £200.
People who transfer £100,000 or more will receive the largest reward of £500.
Barclays’ current best ISA rate is 4.00% (AER/tax-free) with its Premier 1-Year Flexible Cash ISA. For non-Premier customers, the best rate is 3.70% (AER/tax-free) with the 1-Year Flexible Cash ISA.
Savers should compare the deal with the current market to ensure that making the switch would guarantee competitive returns. For example, top one-year fixed rate Cash ISAs currently offer between 4.27% AER and 4.32% AER.
A Cash ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a tax-efficient savings account. People can save up to £20,000 per year without paying tax on interest.
Normal savings accounts only allow people to save up to a certain amount per year without paying tax. The Personal Savings Allowance, which is the limit people can earn in interest with these accounts, has remained frozen for more than eight years.
Currently, basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 in tax-free interest, higher-rate taxpayers up to £500, and additional-rate taxpayers receive no allowance.
With more people at risk of being dragged into the savings tax net due to higher interest rates and frozen allowances, more savers are being urged to check if they can benefit from putting their money into an ISA.
Jeremy Cox, head of strategy at Coventry Building Society, said: “ISAs matter more than ever. With a £20,000 Cash ISA allowance still in place for this tax year, they offer a simple and effective way to earn a good rate of interest tax-free and avoid any unwelcome surprises on payslips in years to come.”
