Can a savings app help you save more? 6 pros and cons of going digital

Online and app-only savings providers offer some of the best deals on the market. But is there more to saving with a digital bank than grabbing a top rate?

According to the Raisin’s Great British Savings Report 2026, nearly two in five people (39%) say digital banking makes them more likely to check how much money they have. And 31% say it makes them more likely to transfer money into savings. 

So can digital accounts really help boost your pot and even improve savings habits? We look at 6 pros and cons to find out.

Pros

1. Better rates

Savers hunting for a new home for their cash are currently spoilt for choice. You can find deals paying over 5% AER - almost all of which are offered by newer digital-only banks rather than familiar high street names. 

This table shows how today’s top savings and cash Isa deals compare, ordered by term:

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Find the right savings account for you using the service provided by Experian Ltd

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As you can see, most of the market-leading accounts can only be opened online or through the mobile app. UBL UK is the only provider offering the option to open its cash Isa in a branch.

Why do online or app-only accounts off more competitive rates? One simple explanation is that providing digital-only accounts costs less. Scrapping services at a physical branch mean they have fewer overheads, so they can afford to offer higher interest rates while still maintaining profit margins.

• Find out more: how to find the best savings account

2. Easy to open and manage

The ease with which you can open and manage an account is one of the biggest selling points about digital banks.

Getting started is often as simple as downloading an app on your phone, entering your personal details, and passing a few security checks. Once up and running, you can view your account whenever and wherever you like.

You can set up real-time notifications so you know transfers into the account have safely arrived. Plus, some providers allow you to open multiple 'pots' depending on your savings goals. 

Customers saving with Zopa, for example, can spread their nest egg across instant-access, fixed term, and cash Isas. And all of the accounts can be opened and managed in the same app. 

3. Can help build a savings habit

Many digital banks offer features that automatically help you regularly put away small amounts of cash.

For example, Chase, Monzo, Revolut and Starling all offer to round up debit card or contactless payments to the nearest pound and sends the spare change to your savings account. 

It works like this: buy something that costs £19.30 and it'll be rounded up to £20, with 70p put aside in savings. It may not sound like much but, if you’re doing this for every transaction, it can really start to add up. 

Monzo also offers an automated version of what's called the 1p savings challenge. This involves putting away just 1p on the first day, then adding another penny to what you save each day. So, day two is 2p, day three is 3p, and so on. It means if you started on 1 January, the total amount saved by 31 December would be £667.95.

Cons

1. Limited or no branch access

While online and app-only rates may be higher, not everyone feels comfortable managing their money digitally. For older savers or those with limited internet access, high street branches offer face-to-face support and a sense of security that apps can’t always replicate.

Sadly choice of savings accounts that can be opened and managed in a physical branch is dwindling fast as more providers focus on digital banking services.

Our bank branch closure tool shows banks and building societies have shut 6,896 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 53 each month.

2. You may need to double-check protection

If you're worried about the risks of saving with a lesser known digital provider, your first task should be to check if its covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). 

This protects up to £120,000 of a saver's pot if a bank or building society goes bust. App or online brands have to abide by the same rules and regulations as other providers, but not all of them are FSCS protected. 

For example, while the likes of Starling, Zopa, and Revolut have banking licences in the UK, some companies, such as Chip, do not. 

Instead these 'money apps' are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and use partner banks to hold your money. It means cash is kept separate from the provider's own funds and ring-fenced, so they cannot use them whatsoever.  

So long as these third-party banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), your savings should benefit from the same protections as if you deposited your money directly into any UK bank.

3. Risk of IT outages

As banking becomes increasingly digital, the risk of IT outages caused by faulty software or even cyberattacks is growing.

For example, this summer saw thousands of Lloyds Banking Group customers hit by a tech failure. But it's far from an isolated incident. Our June 2026 survey of 2,055 people found that one in four UK adults with a current or savings account had been affected by a banking IT outage in the past five years.

If you are worried an IT meltdown could prevent you accessing your savings in an emergency, then there are couple of steps you can take. 

Stashing a portion of your nest egg in an account with a different provider means you have an alternative pot to dip into should you get locked out of your main one. 

Plus, a credit card is a good option for making any urgent payments. Just make sure you pay off the entire balance each month to avoid incurring interest.

• Find out more: how safe is online banking?