Glossary: Notice account

A savings account on which the account holder is required to give a period of notice before making a withdrawal or face a penalty, usually a loss of a specific number of days’ interest or pay a fee. Notice periods of 30, 60 or 90 days are common. These accounts usually pay higher than average interest rates and require large initial deposits (£1,000 minimum) so the notice period and penalties are there to discourage withdrawals. Some of these accounts will only allow a certain number of withdrawals a year.