

Top Children's Savings Accounts
Teach your kids to save at up to 3.5% interest
While interest rates for grown-up savers have been dropping, children can still earn up to 3.5% on their savings – but many have cash in accounts that pay dismal amounts, depriving them not only of interest, but the lesson that your money can work for you. This is a guide to the top-paying children's accounts both for regular savings and for lump sums.
For more on banking for kids, see our MSE guides...
Top Junior ISAs: Savings for kids which are always tax-free
Child Trust Funds: Should you switch to a junior ISA?
Top Cards for Under-18s: Debit and prepaid cards for kids

Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
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 18 seconds and has been taken from The Martin Lewis Money Show on Thursday 17 December, courtesy of ITV Studios Ltd, all rights reserved. You can turn on subtitles by selecting the keyboard image 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.
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.
/igd-mseanalysis.png.rendition.320.320.png)
Kids' regular savers – what we'd go for
If you're looking to save smaller amounts every month, the kids' regular saver from Halifax is our top pick. It pays the joint-highest rate at 3.5% fixed for a year, lets you save up to £100 a month and you can open it online – though it doesn't allow withdrawals.
Barclays' branch-based account pays the same rate of 3.5%, also fixed for a year. It lets you make withdrawals, but the rate drops to 1.51% for a month if you do – meaning it's still best to avoid taking cash out if possible.
Provider | Rate (AER fixed) | Min/max monthly deposit (1) | Min/max age to open | How to open | Withdrawals allowed? |
Halifax | 3.5% | £10/£100 | 0/15 | Online/ branch | ❌ (2) |
Barclays | 3.5% (3) |
£5/£100 | 0/15 | Branch | ✓ (3) |
Saffron BS | 3.02% | £5/£100 | 0/15 | Post/ branch | ✓ |
(1) All accounts let you skip months with no penalty. (2) You can close the account to access your money without losing interest. (3) Rate drops to 1.51% for a month if you make a withdrawal.
Top children's easy-access accounts
With easy-access accounts, you add money at will and all the accounts below let you withdraw it just as easily. Plus, they all let you save a decent lump sum in them. Yet rates can change – so it's important to keep an eye on your account and switch if there's a better deal.
Note: Some of the accounts below can only be opened in a branch, and while we know many don't want to go to one now, high-rate alternatives to the crop below are scarce.
/igd-mseanalysis.png.rendition.320.320.png)
Kids' easy-access accounts – what we'd go for
Easy-access accounts are best for saving bigger lump sums – and which account you go for will largely depend on how much you have to save.
If you've got between £1,500 and £2,000, Santander's 123 Mini pays the highest rate at 3% – though if your child's under 13, you'll need your own Santander current account and have to open the Mini account in branch.
Alternatively, HSBC pays 2.5% on £10 to £3,000 for children aged seven and over.
Account | Rate (AER variable) | Gives debit card? | Min/max deposit | How to open | Min/max age |
Santander* 123 Mini |
3% on £1,500 to £2,000 (1) | ✓ |
£1/ no max | Branch/ online (2) | 0/17 (2) |
HSBC MySavings |
2.5% on £10 to £3,000 (3) |
✓ |
£10/ no max | Branch/ online (4) | 7/17 |
TSB Under 19s |
2.5% on £1 to £2,500 (5) | ✓ |
£1/ no max | Branch | 11/18 (6) |
(1) Pays 1% on £1 to £999.99; 2% on £1,000 to £1,499.99; and nothing below £1 or above £2,000. (2) For a child under 13, the account must be opened in branch by a parent with a Santander current account. Children aged 13+ need to open the account themselves online. (3) 0.25% above. (4) Only parents/guardians with an HSBC current account can apply online. (5) 0.1% above. (6) For a child under 15, a parent/guardian must be present to open the account.
Get up to 2.5% with a junior ISA
Junior ISAs let you save more – up to £9,000 a year – and tend to have good rates. However, the cash is locked away till your child turns 18, so they're not as flexible as the accounts above.
See our Junior ISAs guide for more and to see if one is right for you.

Children's Savings Calculator
For calculating the interest on children's savings, we've assumed your child won't pay any tax on their interest.
Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!

Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
Clever ways to calculate your finances