Tesco Bank Savings Accounts and ISA Rates Explained

Tesco Bank is one of the most searched-for savings names in the UK and one of the least understood. Most people don't know it's been part of Barclays since November 2024, that its "instant access" rates are 12-month bonuses with a 1.05% floor underneath, or that its fixed savers won't let you in with less than £2,000. None of that makes the accounts bad. It does mean the number on the poster isn't the whole story, which is what this guide is for.

Every rate here is from DepositScout's live database, checked 7 October 2026, and the tables further down are live so you can see where Tesco sits against the rest of the market today.

Tesco Bank savings accounts at a glance

Tesco Bank doesn't offer a notice account, a regular saver, a Junior ISA or a current account (it closed its current accounts in 2021). Everything is opened online or in the app, and you'll need a UK current account elsewhere to link to it.

Tesco Bank is Barclays now, and that matters for FSCS

Barclays bought Tesco Bank's credit card, loan and savings business in February 2024 and the transfer completed on 1 November 2024. Since then "Tesco Bank" has been a trading name of Barclays Bank UK PLC. The app, the branding and the Clubcard-coloured website are unchanged, but the bank behind the deposits is Barclays.

The practical consequence is the FSCS limit. Your deposits are protected up to £120,000, but that limit is per banking licence, not per brand. If you have £80,000 in a Tesco Bank ISA and £60,000 in a Barclays savings account, £20,000 of it is unprotected. Plenty of people hold both without realising they're the same institution. The FSCS checker will show you which brands share a licence.

The Instant Access Cash ISA: 4.20%, and what happens in month 13

This is Tesco's best product and the one most people are looking for when they search "Tesco ISA rates". The details:

• Rate: 4.20% AER variable, made up of a 1.05% underlying rate plus a 3.15% bonus fixed for 12 months from opening.
• Flexible ISA: yes. You can withdraw and replace money in the same tax year without using up more allowance. That's a feature a lot of bigger-name ISAs don't have.
• Transfers in: accepted, including previous years' ISAs, which don't count against this year's £20,000.
• Withdrawals: unlimited, no notice, to your linked account. External transfers are capped at £10,000 a day.
• Interest: paid annually on the anniversary, which means you don't see any of it until month 12.
• Opening: online, about ten minutes, £1 minimum, age 18+.

On a full £20,000 that's £840 in year one. Then the bonus drops off and the rate becomes 1.05%, which on the same £20,000 is £210. That's the Tesco model across its whole easy access range: a competitive first year and a punishing second one if you forget. Put the anniversary in your diary and plan to transfer out.

How does 4.20% compare? The top easy access Cash ISAs this week are Trading 212 and Chip at 4.64% and Moneybox at 4.63%, all of which also include 12-month bonuses. So Tesco is about 0.4 points off the pace, worth £88 a year on £20,000, in exchange for a name you've heard of and an ISA that's flexible. I think that's a reasonable trade for someone who values simplicity; it's not the best buy.

The Fixed Rate Cash ISA: 4.40% for 12 months from £1

Tesco's one-year fixed ISA is simple and has an unusually low barrier: £1 to open, where most fixed ISAs want £500 or £1,000. The rules to know:

• Funding window: 30 days from opening. Pay in what you want in that window, then it's sealed.
• Transfers in: accepted, but they also have to complete within the 30 days, so start the transfer the day you open it.
• Early closure: costs 90 days' interest, unless you close within the first 30 days, in which case there's no penalty.
• At maturity: it rolls into the Instant Access Cash ISA at the 1.05% standard rate, not the bonus rate. Again, diary.

On £20,000, 4.40% is £880 locked in for the year. For context, Tesco's fixed ISA rate has moved between 3.95% and 4.60% during 2026, so this is mid-range for them. The best one-year fixed Cash ISA on the market this week is 4.95%, which on £20,000 is another £110. If you've got £1,000 or more, the market leaders will pay more; if you've got less than the typical minimum, Tesco's £1 door is a real advantage.

The Internet Saver: 4.24% is a hard sell in a 5% market

The Internet Saver is the non-ISA easy access account: 4.24% variable, made of 1.05% plus a 3.19% bonus for 12 months, unlimited withdrawals, £1 minimum, bonus applies on balances up to £1 million. It's fine. The problem is that the top easy access accounts are paying 5.00% right now (Starling's Easy Saver for new customers and LemFi both do), and the gap between 4.24% and 5.00% on £20,000 is £152 a year.

Unless you're already a Tesco Bank customer and want everything in one app, there's no reason to choose this over the best easy access rates. If you are a basic-rate taxpayer with savings above about £20,000, you should also be asking whether the money belongs in the ISA instead: the tax calculator will show you what you'd lose to tax outside the wrapper.

The Fixed Rate Savers: 4.84% to 4.85%, from £2,000

Tesco's fixed-term bonds are the most competitive thing it offers, on rate. One year and 15 months pay 4.84%; 18 months, two, three and five years all pay 4.85%. The rate being flat across terms is unusual and tells you something: Tesco is pricing as if rates won't move much, which after the Bank of England held at 3.75% in September with three members voting for a rise is a defensible view. You get the same 30-day funding window, interest paid monthly or annually, and no access at all until maturity.

Two things to weigh. First, the £2,000 minimum shuts out a lot of savers who'd be fine with the ISA's £1 door. Second, the longest terms are where Tesco loses to the market: the best five-year bond this week is 5.35%, half a point more. For one year, 4.84% is close enough to the leaders that the simplicity might win. For five years I'd shop around.

Interest on these is taxable, and a five-year bond paying interest annually will drop £485 a year into your tax return on £10,000. A basic-rate taxpayer is fine; a higher-rate taxpayer with other interest will want the ISA version of this money.

Do you get Clubcard points?

No. You used to be able to collect Clubcard points on some Tesco Bank products, but savings accounts have never earned them and the Barclays deal didn't change that. The Tesco name on the account is branding, not a loyalty scheme.

Who Tesco Bank savings are right for

The Instant Access Cash ISA suits anyone who wants a flexible ISA from a familiar name and is organised enough to move on after 12 months. The Fixed Rate Cash ISA suits people with small balances who'd be locked out of the £1,000-minimum market leaders. The Fixed Rate Savers suit savers with £2,000-plus who want a one-year lock from a big-bank balance sheet and don't want to chase the last 0.1%.

Where Tesco falls down is the second year of everything. Every variable product is built around a bonus that drops to 1.05%, and the fixed products mature into that same 1.05% account. If you're not going to manage it, you'll end up earning a fifth of what you signed up for. Set a rate alert and you'll know the day it changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tesco Bank's Cash ISA rate?

The Instant Access Cash ISA pays 4.20% AER variable, including a 3.15% bonus for 12 months, after which it drops to 1.05%. The 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA pays 4.40%. Rates checked 7 October 2026.

Is Tesco Bank safe?

Yes. It's a trading name of Barclays Bank UK PLC and deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000, but that limit is shared with any money you hold directly with Barclays.

Is Tesco Bank still Tesco?

The brand is licensed from Tesco, but the banking business has been owned and run by Barclays since 1 November 2024.

Can I transfer an existing ISA to Tesco Bank?

Yes, into either Cash ISA. For the fixed ISA the transfer has to complete within 30 days of opening.

Is the Tesco Bank Cash ISA flexible?

The Instant Access Cash ISA is. You can withdraw and replace money within the same tax year without it counting against your allowance again. The fixed ISA isn't, because you can't withdraw from it at all.

What happens after the 12-month bonus ends?

The Internet Saver and Instant Access Cash ISA drop to the 1.05% standard rate. On £20,000 that's a fall from £840 a year to £210. Transfer out before the anniversary.

Does Tesco Bank have a minimum deposit?

£1 for the Internet Saver and both Cash ISAs. £2,000 for all the Fixed Rate Savers.