What are the current NatWest Cash ISA rates?

Remember: The big high-street banks don’t always offer the most competitive rates. Make the most of tax-free interest with the help of our guide to the Best Cash ISAs in the UK.

What are the current NatWest ISA rates?

NatWest currently offers three Cash ISAs, but its most competitive rate at 4.10% are reserved for savers willing to lock their money away for one year. If you want instant access to your money, you’ll get a much lower rate of just 1.60% (variable) AER. 

1. NatWest 1-Year Fixed Rate ISA: 4.10% (fixed) AER/tax-free per year for a 1-year term, starting from the 16th October 2024. When you open the account, you must deposit at least £1,000. You have until the 8th November 2024 to make any payments or withdrawals, after which you cannot make any withdrawals or deposits during the one-year period. If you withdraw your money after this cut-off but before the maturity date, an Early Closure charge will apply. This is equivalent to the lower of the interest earned on your account, or 90 days’ interest, which is deducted from your ISA balance.
2. NatWest 2-Year Fixed Rate ISA: 3.70% (fixed) AER/tax-free per year for a 2-year term, starting from the 16th October 2024. When you open the account, you must deposit a minimum of £1,000. You have until the 8th November 2024 to make any payments or withdrawals into the account, after which you cannot make any withdrawals or deposits during the two-year period. If you withdraw your money after this cut-off but before the maturity date, an Early Closure charge will apply. This is equivalent to the lower of the interest earned on your account, or 90 days’ interest, which is deducted from your ISA balance.
3. NatWest Instant Access Cash ISA: 1.60% / 1.59% (variable) AER tax-free per year on balances up to £24,999. After this, you’ll earn 3.00% / 2.96% (variable) AER tax-free per year on balances over £25,000. As this is an instant access Cash ISA, you get unlimited withdrawals with no restrictions or charges. To be eligible, you must be aged 18 or over, be a UK resident and be an existing NatWest current account holder. 

Source: https://www.NatWest.com/savings/isa-overview.html. Current NatWest Cash ISA rates are accurate as of October 2024.

What is NatWest’s best ISA rate?

NatWest’s best Cash ISA rate is 4.10% (fixed) AER, which you can get by opening their 1-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA. The best thing about a fixed-rate Cash ISA is that your interest rate will stay the same for the duration of the term. The downside is that you’ll need to lock your money away for a full year (two years if you opt for NatWest’s 2-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA). If you want to withdraw your savings before the end of the term, you’ll need to close your account and pay an Early Closure Charge.

If you’re saving for short-term goals or there’s a chance you’ll need access to your money in an emergency, an easy-access Cash ISA could be more appropriate. You’ll be able to make as many withdrawals as you like without having to pay any fees or wave goodbye to your interest. 

Is NatWest a good ISA provider?

NatWest offers competitive interest rates on its fixed Cash ISAs, but the interest on its Instant Access Cash ISA is only 1.60% (variable) AER. To find a more competitive and accessible Cash ISA with a different provider, take a look at our guide to the best Cash ISAs on the market.

Can I have two ISAs with NatWest?

You can only open one Cash ISA with NatWest each tax year, but you could open a Cash ISA with NatWest and then another provider in the same tax year. Just remember that across all your ISA accounts, you can only save £20,000 each tax year. If you already have a Cash ISA and you’re looking for a more competitive rate, it may make sense to transfer your existing ISA to a new provider. 

If you’re a first-time buyer and you’re saving a deposit, a Lifetime ISA (LISA) can be even more rewarding than a traditional Cash ISA. However, there’s nothing stopping you from having both, as long as you don’t exceed your £20,000 annual ISA allowance! With a LISA, you can save up to £4,000 each tax year and you’ll get a 25% bonus from the government, up to £1,000. You must be aged 18-39 to open a Lifetime ISA, and can only use it towards your home purchase if you’re a first-time buyer, but you can also use it for retirement.

Saving for your first home in a LISA could help you get on the property ladder much sooner. For example, if you max out your LISA for 3 years in a row, you’ll have a £15,000 deposit towards your first home or retirement — even more if you choose a LISA with a competitive interest rate. 

NatWest doesn’t have its own Lifetime ISA, but we do! With the Tembo Cash Lifetime ISA, not only will you get the 25% government bonus, you’ll also benefit from our market-leading 4.3% AER interest rate (variable).

Will NatWest increase ISA rates?

NatWest could increase its ISA rates, but it could lower them instead. There’s no way of knowing exactly what will happen to interest rates in future, but banks and building societies tend to change their interest rates based on changes to the Bank of England’s base rate. If you already have a fixed-rate Cash ISA with NatWest, your interest rate will stay the same for the remainder of your fixed term, even if NatWest does make changes to its broader savings rates.

Learn more: Cash ISA or Lifetime ISA. Which one should I pick?

How to find the best Cash ISA Rates

Instead of simply opening an ISA with your current account provider, it’s a good idea to compare accounts from across the wider market. The interest rate is important, but it’s also smart to compare customer service quality, how easy it is to access your funds and whether the provider offers any bonuses or rewards. 

At Tembo, for example, our award-winning savings app has helped thousands of savers. It’s no wonder we’ve been rated Excellent on Trustpilot!

Take a look at our guide to the best Cash ISA rates for a handy breakdown of the most competitive accounts. 

How to transfer my NatWest ISA to another provider

It’s easy to transfer your NatWest ISA to another provider. All you need to do is open an ISA with your new provider and ask them to complete the switch for you. 

Thinking of making the transfer yourself? Not so fast! Moving the money manually can impact your savings’ tax-free status and this year’s ISA allowance! 

For example, let’s imagine that over the last few years you’ve managed to save a sweet £20,000 in a Cash ISA. You’ve found a Cash ISA with a more competitive interest rate than the one you currently have and so you’d like to transfer your tax-free savings to the new provider. 

Move the money yourself with a standard bank transfer and you’ll use up your full £20,000 ISA allowance for this tax year, even if your contributions were originally made during previous tax years. 

Do it this way and you’ll need to wait until the following tax year to make any more ISA contributions. Until then, you’d need to keep any additional savings in a traditional savings account, where your interest would be taxed.