A new Direct Saver account has been launched by National Savings and
Investment (NS&I), the government’s savings organisation.
The new
savings account will pay an interest rate of 2 per cent and customers are able to manage the account online or over the telephone.
The 2 per cent interest rate ensures the account "maintains a stable competitive position" according to NS&I, but the variable rate also offers a fair return for investors, it added.
Savers can invest as little as a pound in the account and as much as £2 million. The rate, although not one of the front runners in the best-buy tables, is likely to further annoy building societies which have recently been complained about the competition they face from NS&I, as well as from the part-nationalised banks.
Many of NS&I’s other accounts are also manageable through the Post Office, although it also only offers its Direct ISA by way of telephone or
internet banking.
The 2 per cent interest rate offered by the new Direct Saver account puts it in eighth position in terms of rates offered by internet accounts.
Financial News
