Savers face five-week wait to land best interest rate

SAVERS have been blocked from Britain’s best easy access interest rate, after hundreds of thousands rushed to take out the 1.5pc deal.

Chase Bank customers attempting to take advantage of the provider’s bestbuy account have been placed into virtual “waiting rooms” and face hold-ups as long as five weeks, following a flood of applications.

The bank, launched in Britain by American investment firm JP Morgan in September, has now been forced to accept new customers in batches.

More than 500,000 people applied to open accounts in the first eight months.

Savers rushed to the new provider, which has 56m customers in America, to cash in on its market-leading interest rate and £20 refer-a-friend scheme. But a statement on the bank’s website now warns applications are being dealt with on a “first-come, first-served basis”. “There are lots of you trying to join us right now, so if you started opening a

Chase account, we’ve added you to our waiting room,” it reads. Savers with £20,000 – the annual Isa allowance – face losing close to £6 in interest each week their new accounts are delayed.

The bank said it was “proud” of the number of customers it had taken on.