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Top children's savings accounts
Teach your kids to save at up to 3.25% interest
While interest rates for adults are only now recovering from their lows during the pandemic, children can still earn up to 3.25% on their savings. 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...
Should you save in a junior ISA instead?
Junior ISAs let you save up to £9,000 a year and pay up to 2.6% on the whole amount. However, the cash can't be withdrawn until the child turns 18.
Jump to the junior ISAs guide
The kids' savings accounts in this guide pay up to 3.25% but usually on smaller amounts. Here most options give you instant access to your savings.
See the top kids' accounts
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.
HSBC currently pays the top 3.25% rate on up to £3,000, though if you've more to save, Kent Reliance pays 3.05% with an upper limit of £25,000. Yet – like most children's accounts – these can usually only be opened either in branch or by post (though HSBC's can be opened online if a parent has a current account).
Alternatively, for an account anyone can open online, Halifax pays 1% on up to £5,000.
(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.

Top kids' regular savings accounts
These accounts let you save up to £100 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 your priorities.
Saffron Building Society pays 3.02% fixed for a year and allows unlimited withdrawals, though the account must be opened by post or in branch. Principality Building Society pays 2.75% fixed for three years, and lets you save the most each month of these accounts, but can also only be opened by post or in branch. If you prefer an online account, Halifax pays 2.5% fixed for a year, though doesn't allow withdrawals.
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? |
Saffron BS | 3.02% | £5/£100 | 0/15 | Post/ branch | Yes |
Principality BS | 2.75% fixed for three years | £0/£150 | 0/17 | Post/ branch | No, but can close early without penalty |
Halifax | 2.5% | £10/£100 | 0/15 | Online/ branch | No, but can close early without penalty |

Children's Savings Calculator
This calculator can do a number of things, including telling you how long it will take to save a certain amount – useful to help them understand the time it takes to reach a savings goal.
For calculating the interest on children's savings, we've assumed your child won't pay any tax.
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