{"id":116360,"date":"2026-01-02T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=116360"},"modified":"2026-01-02T10:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:18:07","slug":"natwest-sends-urgent-email-to-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/natwest-sends-urgent-email-to-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"NatWest Sends Urgent Email to Customers, Big Account Changes Incoming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The UK banking giant NatWest <\/strong>has begun notifying customers of a significant reduction in interest rates across its savings products, with changes set to take effect from 19 January. The notice, sent via email, outlines rate decreases on several key accounts, including the Digital Regular Saver<\/em>, Flexible Saver<\/em> and Help to Buy ISA<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift comes in response to the Bank of England\u2019s December decision to lower the base rate from 4% to 3.75%<\/strong>, marking the fourth such cut this year. NatWest stated that it had \u201cbeen looking at our rates too, as well as what\u2019s on offer from other savings providers right now<\/em>\u201d, before announcing the reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savings Rates Lowered across Key Account Types<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NatWest\u2019s new rates will affect a broad selection of savings accounts, with cuts ranging from minor adjustments to more noticeable drops. Among the most impacted is the <\/strong>Digital Regular Saver<\/em><\/strong>, which will see its Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) decline from 5.50% to 5.25% for balances up to \u00a35,000. Amounts above that will drop from 1.06% to 1.00%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other reductions include the Flexible Saver<\/em><\/strong> for balances of \u00a31 to \u00a324,999, decreasing from 1.06% to 1.00% AER. The Savings Builder<\/em><\/strong> account, designed to reward consistent deposits, will go from 1.50% to 1.25% AER for balances up to \u00a310,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes also extend to tax-free products. The Help to Buy ISA<\/em>, First Saver<\/em>, and Adapt Account<\/em> will all see their rates reduced from 1.85% to 1.60%. According to NatWest<\/a>, the decision was prompted by wider economic conditions and followed \u201cthe news that the Bank of England has decided to reduce the base rate<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detailed figures published by the bank show that accounts such as the Primary Savings<\/em> and Limited Edition Saver<\/em> ranges will also see decreases across multiple balance tiers. For example, Limited Edition Saver Issue 2<\/em><\/strong> will offer 3.30% AER for balances between \u00a3250,000 and \u00a33 million, down from a previous 3.50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers Urged to Shop beyond the High Street<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Financial experts are encouraging savers <\/a>to consider alternatives outside of traditional high street banks in light of the changes. According to Matthew Jenkin<\/strong> from the consumer group Which?<\/em>, individuals who continue to rely solely on familiar banking names may lose out on significant returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the biggest mistakes you can make when looking for the best home for your savings is limiting your search to the high street<\/em>,\u201d he said. Jenkin added that while major banks feel secure, \u201cbreaking out of your comfort zone and choosing a smaller lesser-known provider could leave you better off<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to data from Moneyfacts<\/em><\/strong>, the interest gap between high street and challenger banks is particularly wide on instant-access products. In one example, depositing \u00a310,000 in an account paying 1.15% AER (close to the current high street average) would yield just \u00a3115<\/strong> per year. In contrast, placing the same amount in the highest-paying account for larger balances, offering 4.48% AER, would generate \u00a3448<\/strong>, a difference of over \u00a3300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenkin stressed the importance of checking whether unfamiliar banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS<\/a>), which protects up to \u00a3120,000 per customer should a financial institution fail. While challenger banks must follow the same regulatory framework as major players, not all are FSCS-protected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Customers with savings accounts at the high street bank will see their interest rates lowered. The move follows the Bank of England\u2019s recent base rate cut and affects a wide range of NatWest accounts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":116362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116361,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116360\/revisions\/116361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}