OakNorth notice accounts

What it is

OakNorth pays 3.20% AER at 30 days’ notice, 3.60% at 95 days and 3.65% at 125 days, with fixed term reaching 4.25%. Against a high street clustered around 1% on instant access, that is a different category of return.

Every one of those rates requires a balance of £50,000 or more. Below the threshold, the notice accounts pay 0.00% AER.

The threshold, stated plainly

Fixed term carries the same £50,000 minimum, paying 4.00% over six months and 4.25% over one, two or three years.

Eligibility, before anything else

OakNorth requires turnover above £1m, or £50,000 to deposit. That is the narrowest bar of any account we cover. A sole trader or young company will not qualify regardless of the rate.

Who it genuinely helps

• Companies holding £50,000 or more with a known payment date — a corporation tax reserve, a deferred bill.
• Businesses that can genuinely give notice. 125 days is four months without access.
• Anyone already holding a reserve at a high-street bank earning around 1%, where the gap is roughly £660 a year on £50,000.

Where it falls short

• 0.00% below £50,000. Not reduced. Nothing.
• Notice means notice. Money is not available on demand, and 125 days is a long time in a cash-flow crisis.
• Eligibility excludes most small businesses — £1m turnover or £50,000 to deposit.
• Not in the CMA survey, so there is no independent evidence of service quality.

What else does this

Virgin Money pays 3.50% AER on instant access from £1, with no notice and no current account required. For most businesses that is a better deal than OakNorth’s notice rates once the threshold is accounted for.

Allica pays 2.83% on a free account with instant access and no minimum balance condition of this scale.

Monzo pays 1.30% free and 3.25% on Team, instant access, with no eligibility bar.

Full comparison: best business savings accounts and the savings rates dataset.

Our verdict

Excellent rates, hidden behind a cliff edge that catches people out. OakNorth’s business banking page lists the notice and fixed rates prominently. The £50,000 threshold, and the 0.00% beneath it, appear on the savings page — which is not where most people look first.

We got this wrong ourselves. We originally modelled OakNorth at 3.65% on a £25,000 balance, a figure at which the account would in fact pay nothing at all, and missed the Easy Access product entirely. A reader caught it.

Above £50,000 with a genuine notice period, these are the best deposit rates in the market and worth the eligibility hurdle. Below it, use the Easy Access account at 2.35% — or Virgin Money at 3.50% with no notice at all.

Read our full OakNorth review →