In this post I want to give a brief overview of the different types of bank accounts you see being offered.
Current Account
A bank account that lets you receive and pay money. You can use it to pay bills, receive your salary, withdraw cash, or make payments to other people via standing order or direct debit.
Advantages
- Allows you to deposit and withdraw cash an unlimited amount of times and is perfect for everyday use
- Can open individually or jointly with another person
Disadvantages
- Historically (less so now) used to have lower interest rates than savings accounts
Savings account / eSaver
An account for you to save and put your money in, which is separate to your current account so you don’t spend it.
Advantages
- Savings accounts don’t have an associated debit card, making spending the money inside it harder
Disadvantages
- Used to have higher interest rates than current account but this is rarely the case anymore
Regular Saver
A savings account which requires you to add a fixed amount of money into the account every month. Interest is normally paid at the end of the term, which is normally 1 year.
Advantages
- The interest rate is likely to be way above what’s being offered in your current account, but the effective interest rate is just over half of your end balance. This is because you don’t have the end balance actually in the account for the full year – just the last month
- It helps in saving towards a big goal by saving a little bit at a time.
Disadvantages
- Any money deposited into your account is locked away until the end of the account (normally a year). Withdrawing at any point before then will most likely result in a loss of interest.
- Some accounts require you to save the same amount every month, which you have to define when opening the account. This can get tricky if your circumstances change in a few months’ time.
Fixed bond
A fixed term account that locks your money away for the length of the term. Fixed bonds have a fixed interest rate which is paid at the end of the term.
Advantages
- Range of terms you can save your money for, usually ranging from 1 to 5 years
- Higher interest rates than current account at the longer terms
Disadvantages
- Your money is locked away, withdrawing at any point before then will most likely result no interest being paid