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Top children's savings accounts
Teach your kids to save at up to 5.5% interest
Some children's savings accounts offer comparable or even better rates than adult accounts. But many kids have cash in accounts that pay next to nothing in interest, depriving them not only of the cash that generates, but also of the lesson that you can make your money work for you. We've top pick accounts for kids below...
We've a couple of guides to help you save in the best place for your child, so before you read on, check you're in the right place...
'Normal' kids' savings

This guide is the right place to find out about children's savings and top rates. Most of these give you instant access to your money.

These let you save or invest up to £9,000 each tax year, with the cash locked away until the child turns 18.
Tips on teaching kids to save and other need-to-knows
The simple money lesson for younger children is obvious – put your cash in the bank and it'll grow. But as they get older there's another lesson to be learned – a bank's job is to make money from you, our job is to try to keep our cash.
So here are some top tips for helping kids learn and understand about saving and everything else you need to know about kids' savings.
Rather watch than read? Martin Lewis explains children's savings accounts
The clip below lasts four minutes and 19 seconds and has been taken from The Martin Lewis Money Show, broadcast on Thursday 17 December 2020, courtesy of ITV Studios Ltd, all rights reserved. You can turn on subtitles by selecting the closed captions icon at the bottom right of the video.
Just bear in mind that the savings rates mentioned are subject to change – check the tables below for the most up-to-date rates.
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Top children's easy-access accounts
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Kids' easy-access accounts – what we'd go for
Easy-access accounts are best for saving bigger sums – though the best rates here are mainly on kids' current accounts.
The top interest rate you can on one of these is 4% from HSBC, although this rate only applies to balances of up to £3,000. It can be opened online if the parent/guardian of the account holder is an HSBC customer, otherwise you must go in to a branch.
For an account anyone can open online, Halifax pays 2.25% on up to £5,000.
Account and interest rate (AER variable) | Gives debit card? | Min/max age and how to open |
4% on £10 to £3,000 |
Yes |
7-17: Apply in branch or can open online if parent/guardian has an HSBC current account. |
Leeds BS Ronnie the Rhino Youngsaver
3.9% on £10 to £1m |
No | 0-17: Apply in branch or by post. |
3.4% on £10 to £25,000 |
No | 0-17: Apply in branch or by post. |
3.3% on £10 to £1m |
No | 0-21: Apply in branch or by post |
Leek BS Humphrey Club Young Saver 3.12% on £1 to £250,000 |
No | 0-9: Apply in branch or by post
|
Leek BS Pyramid Max Young Saver 3.1% on £1 to £250,000 |
No | 9-19: Apply in branch or by post |
1% if you've £1 to £999.99 2% if you've £1,000 to £1,499.99 3% if you've £1,500 to £2,000 0% above £2,000 |
Yes |
0-12: Apply in branch, parent or guardian must hold Santander current account. 13-17: Must apply online. |
Top online account. Lower rate than above, but all can open online. | ||
2.25% on £1 to £5,000 |
No | 0-15: Apply online or in branch. Up to two accounts per child permitted. |
(1) Parents with a Halifax current account can use online banking to transfer between the child's account and theirs, which then makes withdrawals from the parent's account possible at an ATM.
Want to know how much you'll earn in easy-access savings? Find out with our Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rate, how much you'll save and how long for and it'll tell you how much you'll earn.


Top kids' regular savings accounts
These accounts let you save up to £150 a month, usually for a fixed term of a year – so are good for small sums. They often pay high rates of interest, but tend to have withdrawal restrictions. For a more detailed explanation of how the interest works and the pros and cons, read our full adults' Regular savings guide. Or take a look at the top payers below.
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Kids' regular savers – what we'd go for
These accounts let you save smaller amounts every month. There are a few top picks – and which is best for you depends on how you want to open the account, and whether you need access to the money.
Halifax pays the top rate of 5.5% and allows you to open the account online, though you can only save up to £100 per month and you can't make withdrawals. For unlimited withdrawals, Saffron BS pays 5.05%, though it can only be opened via post or in branch.
Provider | Interest rate (fixed for 12 months unless specified) | Min/max monthly deposit (all accounts let you skip months with no penalty) | Min/max age to open | How to open | Withdrawals allowed? |
Halifax | 5.5% | £10/£100 | 0/15 | Online/ branch | No, but can close early without penalty |
Saffron BS | 5.05% | £5/£100 | 0/15 | Post/ branch | Yes |
Principality BS | 3.5% fixed for three years | £0/£150 | 0/17 | Post/ branch | No, but can close early without penalty |
Want to know how much you'll earn in regular savings? Find out with our Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rate, how much you'll save and how long for and it'll tell you how much you'll earn.


Top kids' fixed-term savings account
This account offers a guaranteed rate, though you'll need to lock away your cash until the fixed-term ends – so you won't have access.
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Kids' fixed-term savings – what we'd go for
There's currently only one kids' fixed-term account – Saffron Building Society's two-year fix at 4%. This is the same rate you can get with the top easy-access account, yet here the rate's guaranteed for two years. You can save from £500 up to £25,000, though you'll need to open it by post or in branch.
Provider | Interest rate | Length of fix | Min/max deposit | Min/max age to open | How to open |
Saffron BS | 4% | 2 years | £500/ £25,000 | 0/16 | Post/ branch |
Want to know how much you'll earn in fixed-term savings? Find out with our Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rate, how much you'll save and how long for and it'll tell you how much you'll earn.

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