Barclays Instant Access ISA

Barclays is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London. It is a universal bank with operations in retail, wholesale and investment banking, as well as wealth management, mortgage lending and credit cards. It has operations in over 50 countries and territories and has around 48 million customers.

What is an Instant Access ISA?

Instant access ISAs are a great account for people who need the flexibility to withdraw tax-efficient savings as and when is necessary. Any UK taxpayer over the age of 16 years old can save up to the maximum ISA allowance.

This type of ISA has the benefit of allowing you to pay in and withdraw money at any time throughout the financial year, which runs until 5th April each year. Most providers will allow you to pay in and withdraw any amount you wish, and these instant access cash ISAs can often be opened with as little as £1. Some ISAs may require a higher minimum deposit to open an account, or operate a yearly withdrawal limit.

One thing to remember when choosing an ISA is that instant access cash ISAs will often have comparatively low rates of interest compared to other types of ISA. This is what you exchange in return for the flexibility and freedom of this type of account.

Barclays Instant Access ISA Review

Features:

• You will get instant access to your money through online, mobile and telephone banking or in branch
• You can open this account with £1 or £0 for transfers-in
• Transfer-in an existing ISA in just 3 steps
• You’re rewarded for your savings with Interest tears. The more you save in this account the higher your interest rate will be
• Competitive basic rate of interest
• If you’re already a Barclays customer then you can open the account online, by phone or in branch
• If you’re not a Barclays customer then you will only be able to open in a branch

Instant cash ISAs are not known for their high rates of interest. However, the higher tier of this Barclays account means you will have access to a higher rate of interest than is normally offered by these kind of accounts. However, it’s still not as high as other account options such as a Fixed Rate ISA and you have to save a lot to receive the higher tear rate

How do I transfer my instant access ISA?

As Barclays offer free transfers-in, this is a great option for people who are thinking about switching accounts. Transferring is easy and the process generally follows the same rules:

• Once you have completed the new ISA provider's transfer application form they will write to your existing provider
• You can transfer your ISA between providers without affecting your current ISA allowance. Be careful you don’t close your existing ISA to open a new one as you will lose your current ISA allowance, you should transfer so you don’t lose out on your tax-free allowance

A transfer should take no more than 5 days in line with the British Bankers Association guidelines.