Coventry BS helps savers get best deal

COVENTRY Building Society has made life easier for savers by showing what its competitors pay on similar accounts. It also spells out in pounds and pence on its website how much interest you will earn on your money.

Following new rules, which came out in December, banks and building societies must show you how much interest you will earn on £1,000 over a year, rather than just quote a rate.

It’s then up to you to work out how much you will earn on your own pot.

Coventry has taken this one step further. You put in how much you want to save and it shows you the amount of interest you’ll see for a year, assuming rates stay the same.

For example, type ‘£1,500’ into its Easy Access Isa 5, paying 0.9 pc, and it shows you’ll earn £13.50 interest over the year. Click on ‘Compare to other savings providers’ and you’ll find you can do better with, for instance, Virgin Money at 1.01 pc or Bath BS at 1 pc.

A recent study of the cash savings market by city regulator the Financial Conduct Authority found it did not work well for consumers. Its original proposals for improvement included firms providing information on accounts offered by competitors.

But pressure from providers led to it being dropped. They complained it was expensive and would be difficult to ensure accounts were comparable and the information up to date.

Mark Parsons, chief executive at the Coventry, says: ‘Customers have told us they want simplicity and transparency. We have provided the tools they say they value most highly.’