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Should you trust a challenger bank with your savings?
Chip and Revolut are the latest smaller providers to offer 5% instant-access deals
Matthew is an award-winning journalist, specialising in savings, tax and insurance.
A wave of 5% instant-access savings deals has arrived, but many of the best rates come from digital banks and app-based providers rather than familiar high street names.
Chip, Revolut, LemFi and Cahoot currently top the savings tables, with most of the remaining market-leading accounts coming from lesser-known brands. If you're unfamiliar with these providers, there are ways to check your money is protected.
Here's why so-called challenger banks can offer higher rates and what to look for before opening an account.
Where can you find the best instant-access deals?
Instant-access accounts currently offer some of the highest rates on the market. This table shows how today’s top deals compare, ordered by rate:
| Account | AER | Minimum deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Chip Easy Access Account | 5.01% | No minimum deposit |
| Revolut Instant Access Savings | 5% | No minimum deposit |
| LemFi Instant Access Savings Account | 5% | £1 minimum deposit |
| Cahoot Sunny Day Saver | 5% | £1 minimum deposit |
| Tembo Money HomeSaver | 4.55% | £10 minimum deposit |
Source: Moneyfacts. Correct as of 10 June 2026, but rates are subject to change.
As the table shows, all the top rates currently come from lesser-known brands.
The absence of big high street names is, in part, down to the fact that these challenger banks and platforms don't usually have physical branches. This means they have fewer overheads to worry about, so can offer higher rates while maintaining profit margins.
- Find out more: best savings rates 2026
The catches to watch out for
The accounts topping our table are certainly appealing, but getting one of these top rates isn't always straightforward. All of the top accounts in our table come with significant strings attached.
Here are the main caveats savers will need to accept to get one of these deals:
Existing customers only
Some of the top savings accounts are often reserved for the provider's existing customers. This usually means having a current account, but in some cases, other products, such as a mortgage or investment account, may also qualify.
For example, Revolut requires customers to open a current account before they access one of its savings products.
Boosted rate
Chip and Revolut both offer 'boosted' rates. This is when an account features extra interest on top of its standard rate for a temporary period.
Revolut pays 5% AER to new customers who open the savings account before 4 August. But only until 4 December 2026. After that date, interest will drop to the standard rate that applies to the current account plan you are currently on. For example, if you join the free standard plan, your interest rate will be just 2.9%.
Chip's account, on the other hand, drops to 3.5% after six months. Tembo Money's deal includes a bonus rate of 1.55% for the first 12 months. The rate increases by 1% to a total of 5.55% for customers who go on to secure a mortgage through the provider.
Withdrawal limits
Some top-rate products limit the number of withdrawals that savers can make.
Chip, for example, only allows you to take money out three times a year. Any more than that and the rate drops to 2.91% with the boosted rate or 1.4% without the bonus interest.
Interest on smaller pots only
Cahoot's Sunny Day Saver only pays interest on balances up to £3,000 – anything above that earns nothing.
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Join Which? Money3 checks to make before opening an account
If you're nervous about saving with a bank or platform you've never heard of, there are some checks you can make to ensure your money is protected:
1. Is it covered by the FSCS?
A good starting point is to find out whether it is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This protects up to £120,000 of a saver's pot if a bank goes bust. Challenger banks have to abide by the same rules and regulations as other banks, 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.
- Find out more: do you know where your savings are really held?
2. What are the security features?
It's also a good idea to check what features the provider offers to ensure your banking app is as secure as possible, minimising the impact if your phone gets stolen.
Many digital banks have location-based protections to prevent fraudulent payments when the card's location and the app's location don't match. Others use biometric technology, such as your voice and face, to secure the app.
- Find out more: how safe is online banking?
3. Is it a good provider?
Don't forget to check out our guide to finding the best savings account. Each year, Which? judges banks and building societies on interest rates and customer service. The latest results are based on an online survey of more than 6,000 members, conducted in August 2025.
If you're looking for the very best bank or building society in terms of overall customer score and consistently competitive savings rates, look out for our Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) endorsement.
