On a tear: Rising rates push Chetwood’s SaveSmart Bank to £1bn in deposits

Consumers racing to take advantage of rising interest rates helped push Chetwood Financial to over £1bn in deposits through its savings platform SmartSave Bank.

SmartSave currently offers 4.46 per cent interest on a 2-year fixed-rate savings account, a rate that has jumped from 1.81 per cent just a year ago when interest rates were far lower.

Chetwood launched SmartSave back in 2019, but said the last 12 months had seen “accelerated growth” on the back of rising interest rates.

“Combining smarter, online financial products free from gimmicks with exceptional customer service, SmartSave is an excellent example of how banking can be done; the customer at the heart of everything,” said Andy Mielczarek, CEO and co-founder of Chetwood.

“To hit £1bn in deposits is a great milestone, underlining how many people trust us with their hard-earned money. But we have every ambition to grow at an even greater pace in the months to come – because we know that doing so means more savers across the UK will be able to make their money go further, and ultimately that’s what we’re here to do.”

Last month the Bank of England raised interest rates once more to 4 per cent, with the expectation that they may reach 4.6 per cent by December.

For neobanks that have established lending operations, like Chetwood, rising rates present a larger opportunity to profit from charging a higher rate on loans than they pay on deposits.