LHV Bank, a fully licensed UK bank, today launches its new fee free current account with market leading 3.25% AER on all balances up to £1 million, tracking the Bank of England Base Rate minus 1%.
Today’s launch provides a new alternative for the UK public and takes aim at the £252bn of deposits* held in non-interest-bearing bank accounts in the UK. By contrast, LHV Bank customers’ money is always at work, earning a market leading rate of interest from the moment it goes into their current account.
New research from LHV Bank and Opinium - surveying 2,000 UK adults - reveals the scale of Britain’s 0% interest current account challenge. Less than a third (30%) of Britons report collecting interest on their most used current account, whilst two in three (64%) believe banks should be responsible for warning them if their current account is not earning interest. Two fifths of respondents (41%) would support Government legislation to ban 0% interest rate current accounts altogether. **
LHV Bank aims to be the best place to save money and, alongside the new current account, offers a range of competitive fixed rate savings bonds with further savings products planned. It secured its full UK banking licence in 2023 and is now doubling down on its commitment to the UK market, where it sees significant opportunities for innovation and disruption.
The launch of LHV Bank’s current account offer is accompanied by an advertising campaign aimed at ‘Reckless Savers’. The campaign goal is to encourage UK consumers to switch banks to earn interest on their current account balance, in turn pushing the banking industry to better by its customers and offer current account interest as standard. Reckless Savers can sign up today to LHV and make their money work harder for them.
Erki Kilu, CEO of LHV Bank, said: “The majority of UK banks are focused on helping customers to spend money, but at LHV we take a savings first approach. We believe that every penny deposited with your bank should earn interest, making it easy to be a ‘reckless saver’ and make the most of your money. LHV is a bank for savers, not for spenders.”
Alongside leading interest rates, from today LHV customers can make use of:
· A fresh, new banking experience: the LHV Bank app has been designed from scratch to offer customers a seamless self-service user experience
· Advanced fraud prevention: cutting-edge real-time risk decisioning technology protects customers from fraud and scams
· Fee free interest: access to fee free market leading interest rates on current account balances as standard
· Debit Cards: stylish, minimalist Debit Cards in a range of colours to match any style with no current account or overseas debit card transaction fees
· Google Pay: enabled from launch, with Apple Pay coming soon
Kris Brewster, Director of Retail Banking at LHV Bank, said: “Millions of people across the UK are being short-changed by banks offering 0% on their current accounts. At LHV, we’re giving customers the tools to take control - combining meaningful interest rates, modern app-based technology, and complete transparency to help them make smarter money decisions every day.”