Coventry Building Society launches table-topping telephone saver

The Coventry Building Society has launched a new best buy savings account that pays a variable rate of 3.25% AER.

The rate on the Telephone Saver includes a one-year bonus of 1.25% before the rate reverts to 2%.

Savers can open the account with a minimum balance of £500, rising to a maximum of £250,000.

The account is instant access but is geared more towards lump sum rather than regular saving. For example, it does not permit deposits or withdrawals of less than £500 and it will cease to take any deposits from the 31 October this year.

Savers can opt for interest to be paid monthly or annually.

The Telephone Saver uses a UK-based customer service team, but also offers 24-hour access to support online and via a telephone self-serve facility.

Moneywise's verdict

This account pays a fantastic rate on your money and while it does include a bonus, it isn't as big as many others on the market, meaning if you don't switch to a better deal after 12 months you'll still get a reasonable rate on your money (currently 2% AER).

However, like many of the top paying accounts it has strings attached. In this case it isn't very flexible - withdrawals and deposits are limited to £500 chunks and from November savers won't be able to pay in any more money.

This means it's not a great rainy-day account and is better suited to savers with a lump sum who don't want to touch their cash, but don't want to lose access to it altogether.