Spring's new 5% quietly out-earns Santander's 6%

Spring — the savings app owned by Paragon Bank — has launched the Accelerate Saver, an easy access account paying 5.00% AER (variable) on balances up to £5,000. Interest is paid monthly, there are no fees or in-app charges, and you don't need to switch banks to use it. The app links to your existing current account through Open Banking, so money moves in and out whenever you need it.

You can open one from £10, and it's available to new and existing Spring users for a limited time. Put the full £5,000 in and you'd earn up to £250 in interest over a year at the current rate

Why the rate is capped at £5,000

Accounts like this are aimed squarely at money sitting idle. Spring points to CACI data showing roughly £322bn parked in UK current accounts paying no interest at all — around £60bn of it spread across 68 million accounts holding £5,000 or less. The pitch is simple: move even part of that into a dedicated saver and it starts working.

How it compares to Santander and Cahoot

Spring isn't the only one playing this game. Two of the other standout small-balance savers come from the Santander stable:

The number that jumps out is Santander's 6% — the highest easy access rate on the market. But look closer:

• Santander Edge Saver (6%) only pays that rate on up to £4,000, and you need a Santander Edge or Edge Explorer current account to open it — which typically carries a £3/month fee (£36 a year). The 6% also includes a 2.50% bonus that lasts 12 months, after which it drops to around 3.50%.

• Cahoot Sunny Day Saver (5%) pays on up to £3,000 with no current account needed and no fee — but it runs as a 12-month term, then matures into a standard Cahoot account paying roughly 1.20%. Cahoot is owned by Santander.

• Spring Accelerate Saver (5%) has the biggest cap of the three at £5,000, no current account requirement, no fee, and no bonus-then-cliff structure — just a straightforward variable rate.

Here's the part the headline rates hide. Because Spring's cap is bigger, 5% on £5,000 earns £250 a year — more than the £240 you'd get from Santander's 6% on £4,000 — and without a £3 monthly current account fee chipping away at it. A larger pot at a slightly lower rate quietly wins.

The trade-offs

Spring's account is app-only (iOS and Android), so it won't suit anyone who prefers online or telephone banking — which is exactly where Santander and Cahoot are run. The rate is variable, so it can move. You'll need to be 18 or over, UK-resident for tax, and hold a UK current account in your own name to link. And you have 28 days from opening to make your first deposit, or the account closes and you'll have to reapply.

FSCS: mind the shared licences

All three are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but pay attention to how the protection is grouped. Cahoot is part of Santander UK, so money across Santander and Cahoot shares a single FSCS limit. Spring sits under Paragon Bank and shares its limit with Paragon. If you're spreading small pots across providers to chase the best rates, keep your combined balances within £120,000 per banking group — not per account.

The bottom line

Spring's Accelerate Saver is one of the cleaner options in the small-balance easy access market: the highest cap of the three, no fees, no current account to open, and none of the bonus expiry or term-maturity traps that drag Santander's and Cahoot's rates down the line. If you've got up to £5,000 sitting in a current account earning nothing, it's a strong, low-effort home for it — just keep an eye on that variable rate, since it's the one thing that can change without much warning.