Switching savings accounts is simpler than switching a current account: you open the new account and move the money. The one exception is a cash ISA, which you must move with an ISA transfer, or you lose part of its tax-free allowance.
When switching is worth it
Compare your rate with the average for the same type of account. In August 2026 the Bank of England’s average instant access rate was 2.07% and the average 1-year fixed bond 4.04%; the latest averages are in how to find the best savings account.
Each percentage point of difference is worth £100 a year on £10,000. On £10,000 moved from an account paying 1% to one paying the average instant access rate, you’d earn about £107 more a year.
Good times to check: when a bonus rate ends, when a fixed rate bond matures, and after a Bank Rate change.
Switching an ordinary savings account
- Check the old account’s terms. Easy access accounts can be emptied at any time, but a notice account needs notice first, and a fixed rate bond may not allow withdrawals, or may charge a penalty in lost interest.
- Open the new account, online, in an app or in a branch, depending on the bank.
- Move the money. Some savings accounts only pay out to a nominated account, so you may need to move the money to your current account first, then on to the new account.
- Check it’s arrived and that interest is being paid at the rate you expected.
- Close the old account, or keep it open if you might use it again. Fewer accounts are easier to keep track of.
Before you move money, check the new bank doesn’t share an FSCS limit with another bank where you already have savings, if your total with them would go over £120,000.
Transferring a cash ISA
To move an ISA, ask the new provider for an ISA transfer: if you withdraw the money yourself instead, you can't pay that part of your allowance back in. A transfer between cash ISAs should take no more than 15 working days, and other ISA transfers 30 calendar days.- Contact the provider you're moving to and fill in its ISA transfer form.
- If you withdraw the money instead, you can't put that part of your tax-free allowance back in.
- You can move all or part of an ISA at any time, to the same type of ISA or a different one, including money paid in this tax year.
- Transfers between cash ISAs should take no more than 15 working days.
- Other ISA transfers should take no more than 30 calendar days.
- Check your provider's terms first: some charge for a transfer, or restrict it.
The transfer form comes from the provider you’re moving to, which then arranges the transfer with your old provider. Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs have extra restrictions on transfers: see ISA transfer rules. If a transfer takes longer than it should, contact your ISA provider; if you’re unhappy with the answer, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
If your current cash ISA is fixed, check its early transfer charge before you ask to move it: the charge may be more than you’d gain.
Moving a large sum
If you’re moving more than £120,000, you may want to split it across banks (where to put a large sum). Money that’s protected as a temporary high balance, such as the proceeds of a house sale, keeps its protection if you move it, but the 6-month period doesn’t restart.
Related guides
- Savings accounts guide: the account types, average rates, tax and protection in one place
- How to find the best savings account: the benchmark and checks for any account
- ISA transfer rules: transferring stocks and shares, Lifetime and Junior ISAs
- Switching current accounts: the Current Account Switch Service