Around two-thirds of top easy-access cash ISAs come with conditions attached, according to Moneycomms analysis.
An easy access cash ISA is a type of individual savings account that lets you save cash and earn interest on it tax-free. From April 2027, this annual tax-free allowance will be reduced from £20,000 to £12,000 for savers under the age of 65. These products are ‘easy access’ as they allow you to withdraw your money flexibly without a penalty.
However, almost half (47%) of the top 100 easy-access cash ISAs restrict the number of withdrawals a saver can make, 16% include a short-term bonus rate – this rate averages 1.64% over 12 months – and 9% have another account restriction, such as requiring savers to hold a current account with the provider to qualify.
These bonus rates are particularly prevalent at the top end of the market, with 40% of the top 20 accounts including a short-term bonus.
In contrast, only 33 of the 100 leading accounts could be classed as fully unrestricted, with no short-term bonus rates, withdrawal limits or other requirements.
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at Moneycomms, said: “The easy-access cash ISA market mirrors the age-old situation we see with traditional savings products, with many accounts not truly ‘clean’ easy access accounts.
“ISA customers should be careful not to plump for an account just because it’s near the top of the best buy tables – if they look more closely, they may find that the rate is boosted by a temporary bonus or there are restrictions on the number of withdrawals they can make – so not truly easy access as providers and comparison sites would have you believe.”
The average interest rate across the top 100 easy-access cash ISAs analysed was 3.69%.