Recognise Bank launched at the end of last year, initially providing commercial loans and mortgages to the under-served SME business sector. The bank has now unveiled its first personal savings accounts, to be followed by business savings accounts later in the year. This follows the lifting of deposit restrictions by the PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority) earlier this month.

All of Recognise Bank’s personal savings accounts are covered by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme), meaning that savers’ money is protected up to the scheme’s limit of £85,000 per person and £170,000 for joint accounts.

The initial line-up includes:
• 95 Day Notice Account - 1.00% AER/1.00% gross P.A./1.00% gross P.M. Variable Rate
• Five Year Fixed Rate Account - 2.00% AER/2.00% gross P.A./1.98% P.M. Fixed Rate

Announcing the launch, Jason Oakley, CEO of Recognise Bank, said: “Recognise’s presence in the personal savings market is an important part of our mission to support the UK’s growing small and medium sized businesses. Our founding ethos, and the reason for the bank’s name, is to focus on the SME community, which has been so overlooked and neglected by mainstream banking.

“By saving with Recognise Bank, customers will not only have a safe home for their money, they will also know that their FSCS-protected savings are helping ambitious SMEs, so they are directly supporting the UK economy as well.”

Damian Trussler, Head of Savings and Payments, Recognise Bank, continued: “We call it saving with a purpose. People want a compelling rate for their savings and to know that their money is safe and secure, but they also want to be sure that their hard-earned savings are being put to good use. By saving with Recognise Bank, people are helping ambitious businesses grow.

“With Recognise, when people save for their own future, they are also directly supporting the plans of hardworking business owners. Small and medium sized firms are the engine room of the UK economy, and as we recover from the impact of the pandemic, those businesses need our backing more than ever before.”

Following the launch of personal savings accounts, Recognise Bank plans to introduce business savings accounts later in the autumn. Further personal savings products will follow later in the year.

Recognise Bank was created with a mission to serve SMEs that are being ignored by the big banks. It has built a network of regionally based Relationship Managers who understand the needs of local businesses and their communities, backed by technology that aims to provide businesses with quick lending decisions and access to their funds.

Rather than having deposits from savers disappear into a bank’s balance sheet, Recognise Bank will use the money to support its lending to small and medium sized businesses. By choosing Recognise Bank, not only will savers know that their money is safe and earning a competitive rate, they will also be making a positive contribution to society.

For information on Recognise Bank’s personal savings accounts visit www.recognisebank.co.uk/savings/personal-savings/

Recognise Bank aims to provide more than £1.3 billion of business lending over the next five years to 5,000 borrowers as well as savings accounts to 55,000 personal and business savers. It currently has regional hubs in London, Midlands, Manchester and Leeds, with more coming on stream soon. Each Relationship Manager has a deep knowledge of industry sectors and an understanding of the challenges growing firms face, enabling them to offer a personalised and responsive service to the SME sector.