Updated:The rate on this product has now been changed. Find the latest rate on the product page.
Recognise Bank has increased the rate of its new Business Easy Access Savings Account to 0.75% AER, a rise of 20 basis points. The rate increase will benefit both new and existing customers.
For so long business savings interest rates have been in the doldrums, with companies earning much less interest than personal savers. Some of the biggest banks, who dominate the business banking sector, pay as little as 0.01% AER to their business savings customers.
Research* by Recognise found that British SMEs keep an average of £75,000 in cash, usually to pay upcoming bills or as a buffer against financial shocks and cashflow problems. But the survey also found that nearly half of firms (49%) don’t bother to put their cash in a savings account, leaving it in a business account earning zero interest.
Recognise Bank launched its Business Easy Access Account to give SMEs more choice, with an easy to open and simple to manage online account, with no ties – such as the need to also have a bank account with Recognise – paying a decent rate, with FSCS protection.
Announcing the rate increase, Bryce Glover, CEO for Recognise Bank, said: “There has been a great response to our first business savings account and we want to ensure we offer good value to small businesses, who, like everyone at the moment, are tussling with the cost pressures of soaring prices.
“While many business banks continue to pay extremely low rates on their savings accounts, we want to help SMEs make the most of their cash, so we have increased the rate to 0.75% AER on our Easy Access Account for both new and existing business savers.
“Our entry into the market seems to have triggered a wave of new rates and new products – although not from the mainstream banks. It means that the challenger banks are once again leading the charge for value in business savings, which is good news for SMEs.”
Recognise Bank is one of the UK’s newest banks, entering the personal savings market in September 2021. Its Business Easy Access Account pays 0.75% AER, is FSCS protected, doesn’t require the saver to have a business current account with Recognise, and can be opened and managed online via the Bank’s website, with dedicated telephone support if required.
Recognise Bank was created to provide SMEs with digitally enabled, relationship-led banking, offering a range of unregulated lending options via a network of relationship managers across the UK. The Bank recently hit a milestone of £100 million in lending and £95 million in deposits through its range of personal savings accounts.
*Research was carried out amongst the financial decision makers of 500 SMEs with between 1 and 49 employees by 3Gem in November 2021
Product Summary
| Account Name | Business Easy Access Account |
| AER % | 0.75% |
| Gross Per Annum % | 0.75% |
| Gross Per Month % | 0.75% |
| Can Recognise change the interest rate? | Yes – the account has variable interest |
| How can the account be opened and managed? | The account can be opened online and managed using our Online Secure System, with support from telephone. |
| Minimum Deposit | £1,000 |
| Maximum Balance | £85,000 |
| Can money be withdrawn | Yes, with immediate access |
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and compounded once each year; Gross p.a. is the interest rate without tax deducted; Variable Rate means Recognise Bank can change the interest rate.
