Recognise Bank Increases Rates on Savings Accounts

Popular 95-Day Notice Personal Savings Account increases to 1.10% AER, Business Easy Access Savings Account increases to 0.90% AER

Recognise Bank has raised the interest rate on its popular 95-Day Notice Personal Savings Account (Issue 4) to 1.10% AER, an increase of 25 percentage points from its previous rate of 0.85% AER. The increase will apply to existing account holders as well as new savers.

The Bank has also increased the rate on its Business Easy Access Savings Account (Issue 1) to 0.90% AER, a rise of 15 percentage points from the previous rate of 0.75% AEAR. The increase will benefit new and existing customers.

Both accounts are straightforward to open and manage online, with dedicated telephone customer support, and are FSCS protected up to the maximum of £85,000. The Business Easy Access Savings Account does not require savers to also have a Business Current Account with Recognise Bank.

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 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 announced today fresh investment of £8.7 million after hitting a milestone of £100 million in lending and £95 million in deposits through its range of personal savings accounts just six months after being full authorised. It launched its first business savings account earlier this year.

Product Summary

Account Name95-Day Personal Savings AccountBusiness Easy Access Account
AER %1.10%0.90%
Gross Per Annum %1.10%0.90%
Gross Per Month %1.10%0.90%
Can Recognise change the interest rate?Yes – the account has variable interestYes – 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.
The account can be opened online
and managed using our Online Secure
System, with support from telephone.
Minimum Deposit£1,000£1,000
Maximum Balance£85,000£85,000
Can money be withdrawnYes, with 95-Days noticeYes, 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.

*Research was carried out amongst the financial decision makers of 500 SMEs with between 1 and 49 employees by 3Gem in November 2021

Steve Pateman

Steve has had an extensive executive career in banking, leading corporate and commercial banking businesses at RBS/NatWest, managing Santander’s UK banking businesses and as CEO of Shawbrook Bank, Hodge Banking Group and most recently successfully leading the banking licence application for StreamBank.

He is a non-executive Director at Bank of Ireland both in the UK and Dublin and Thin Cats, a specialist SME lending business and is retained as an advisor to Black Lion Ventures. He was previously President of the Chartered Banker Institute.

Steve took up the role of Chair (subject to regulatory approval) at Recognise Bank in November 2024, having served as an Investor Non-Executive Director since January 2024.