Do you have GBP cash waiting to be invested, perhaps until the right opportunity comes along?
Since interest rates rose, many UK investment platforms and brokers have started paying interest on cash, either in your investment account or through linked savings products. The rates and conditions vary a lot, so it pays to compare.
In our latest check (September and October 2026), the highest rates come from the savings marketplaces of interactive investor (up to 4.87% on a 12-month fixed term) and Hargreaves Lansdown (4.00% easy access). For cash held in an investment account, Lightyear pays 3.84% (AER/APY), net, variable, true as of 7 October 2026, through money market funds, and Trading 212 pays 3.55%. Trading 212 also offers new users a free fractional share worth up to £100 with the promo code IITW*.
In this article, we compare the best options for your uninvested GBP cash, including how each rate works, its limits and how your money is protected.
*Sponsored Link. To get a free fractional share worth up to £100, you can open an account with Trading 212 through this link. Terms apply.
7 best brokers for interest on uninvested GBP cash
- Lightyear: 3.84% (AER/APY), net, variable, true as of 7 October 2026, through money market funds, with no minimum or maximum.
- Trading 212: 3.55% on cash in your investment account, and a free fractional share for new users.
- interactive investor: up to 4.87% on fixed-term deals through its Cash Savings account, from £10,000.
- Interactive Brokers: a lower rate, but a publicly listed broker with a long track record and high transparency.
- Hargreaves Lansdown: 4.00% easy access through its Active Savings marketplace.
- Vanguard: ideal for low-cost index funds, with a flat rate on cash.
- Saxo: great for advanced traders, but only VIP clients earn interest.
Comparison of the best brokers for interest on GBP cash
Rates are variable unless fixed-term, and were checked in September and October 2026. They may no longer be current.
Best brokers for interest on uninvested GBP cash
1. Lightyear
Terms apply, seek guidance if necessary. When you invest, your capital is at risk.
Lightyear offers a return on GBP through Money Market Funds (MMFs): 3.84% (AER/APY), net, variable, true as of 7 October 2026. In the UK, the GBP fund is the BlackRock ICS Sterling Liquidity Fund, rated AAA. Returns are earned daily and paid monthly, reinvested in the same fund. There is no minimum or maximum amount.
UK clients are served by Lightyear UK Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA, FRN 987226). MMFs invest in short-term, high-quality debt, but they are investments, not bank deposits, so their value can fall and they are not covered by FSCS deposit protection. Your assets are held separately from Lightyear’s own money.
Learn more about Lightyear’s money market funds. Lightyear also offers new UK clients a free fractional share worth up to £100 with our promo code INVESTINGINTHEWEB, if they deposit at least £100 within 15 days.
Interested in knowing more about Lightyear? Read our Lightyear review.
Disclaimer: Investing involves risk. See full T&Cs. Terms apply: lightyear.com/terms. Only invest excess capital. Money market funds are considered investments and are not FSCS protected.
2. Trading 212
Capital at Risk. Sponsored Link. To get free fractional shares worth up to 100 EUR/GBP, you can open an account with Trading 212 through this link. Terms apply.
Trading 212 offers no commission on stocks and ETFs (other fees may apply, see terms and fees). UK clients are served by Trading 212 UK Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA. It also offers a free fractional share worth up to £100*.
Trading 212 pays a variable rate of 3.55% on uninvested GBP cash (October 2026), credited daily with no minimum or limit, if you enable interest on your Invest account or Stocks and Shares ISA.
If Trading 212 UK Ltd failed and could not return your assets, the FSCS could compensate eligible clients up to £85,000.
Interested in knowing more about Trading 212? Read our Trading 212 review.
Disclaimer: When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. If you enable interest, Trading 212 will hold your cash in qualifying money market funds and banks. Otherwise, your cash will be held only in banks. Interest applies on cash in an investment account. Terms apply. The rates shown may no longer be current. See the Trading 212 Terms and Fees page for the live rates.
3. interactive investor
Disclaimer: As investment values can go down as well as up, you may not get back all of the money you invest. If you’re unsure if an investment account is right for you, please speak to an authorised financial adviser.
interactive investor (ii) offers two ways to earn interest on GBP cash.
Cash Savings account: a separate service provided by Flagstone that gives you access to fixed-term and notice accounts from more than 25 UK banks and building societies. On 15 September 2026, the best deals ranged from 4.10% (9 months) to 4.87% (12 months), with a minimum of £10,000 and a maximum of £250,000. Each partner bank is covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per customer, so you can spread large balances across several banks.
Cash in your investment accounts: ii pays tiered interest on cleared cash, credited monthly around the 25th. In a SIPP, GBP cash earns 1.70% on the first £20,000, rising to 2.30% above £100,000. In a Trading Account, rates range from 0.80% to 1.80%, depending on the balance.
ii is a subscription-based platform, so factor the monthly fee into your comparison. You can also access IPOs and bond launches through the platform.
Sources: interactive investor cash interest rates (effective 6 January 2026) and Cash Savings page (updated 15 September 2026).
4. Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers pays 3.181% on GBP balances above £8,000 on IBKR Pro (benchmark rate minus 0.5%) and about 2.18% on IBKR Lite (benchmark minus 1.5%), according to its rates page in October 2026. Interest accrues daily on settled cash and is credited in the first days of the following month.
Accounts with a Net Asset Value (NAV) of USD 100,000 or more earn the full rate, while smaller accounts earn a proportional rate: an account with a NAV of USD 50,000 earns half the full rate. No interest is paid on the first £8,000. You can estimate your rate on IBKR’s interest rates page.
We explain how your account is protected in our article on whether Interactive Brokers is safe.
Interested in knowing more about Interactive Brokers? Read our Interactive Brokers review.
5. Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), the UK’s largest investment platform, offers a 4.00% variable easy-access rate through its Active Savings service (correct as of 17 September 2026). Active Savings is a marketplace: your money is deposited with HL’s partner banks, which offer easy-access, limited-access and fixed-term accounts, with minimum deposits from £1. HL’s Cash ISA also offers a variable market-leading rate of 4.52% (AER) on up to £20,000.
Your deposits are covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per partner bank. Keep in mind that fixed-term accounts don’t allow early withdrawals.
Cash held inside HL’s investment accounts earns much less: HL reduced those rates from 10 June 2026, and it encourages clients to use Active Savings instead.
6. Vanguard
Vanguard UK pays a flat rate of 1.85% on cash in your account, in place since 18 December 2025. Interest is earned daily and normally paid on the first working day of each month, with no limits on the amount. Vanguard keeps any interest it earns above this rate to cover its costs.
Your money is ring-fenced from Vanguard’s own assets, and Vanguard is covered by the FSCS.
Vanguard is one of the world’s largest asset managers and offers low-cost funds and ETFs through general accounts, ISAs and personal pensions, but only Vanguard products are available on its UK platform.
7. Saxo
62% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Saxo only pays interest on cash to VIP clients: 2.48% on GBP (rates as of 15 September 2026). Classic and Platinum accounts earn 0%. For example, on a £150,000 balance, a VIP client would earn about £3,720 a year, while Classic and Platinum clients would earn nothing. The rate depends on Saxo’s bid/ask rates plus a markup or markdown, and open positions in margin products affect the calculation. You can estimate your rate with Saxo’s online calculator.
Interest accrues daily and is credited monthly. The protection that applies depends on the Saxo entity that holds your account, so check it when you sign up.
Interested in knowing more about Saxo? Read our Saxo review.
How to compare interest on GBP cash
The rates in this article come from different types of products, so compare them carefully:
- Cash in an investment account or savings account: cash inside an investment account is ready to invest at any time. Savings marketplaces such as ii Cash Savings and HL Active Savings often pay more, but your money sits in a separate account, sometimes for a fixed term.
- Bank deposit or money market fund: since 1 December 2025, the FSCS protects deposits up to £120,000 per person, per banking institution. Money market funds are investments and aren’t covered by deposit protection. If an investment firm fails, the FSCS investment limit is £85,000.
- Fixed or variable rate: fixed-term rates are guaranteed but lock your money in. Variable rates can change at any time.
- Fees: subscription or platform fees reduce the real return on your cash.
- Tax: interest outside an ISA or pension counts towards your Personal Savings Allowance, and anything above it is taxable.
Bottom line
Your best option depends on how you want to hold your GBP cash.
If you want the highest rate and can lock your money away, the savings marketplaces of interactive investor (up to 4.87% on fixed terms, from £10,000) and Hargreaves Lansdown (4.00% easy access) lead the market.
If you want to keep cash ready to invest, Lightyear (3.84% AER/APY through money market funds, net, variable, true as of 7 October 2026) and Trading 212 (3.55%) pay the most among the brokers on this list, with no minimum deposit. Trading 212 new users can also get a free fractional share worth up to £100 with the promo code IITW*.
Always check the protection that applies, the fees and whether the rate is fixed or variable before you move your money.
Looking for interest on EUR and USD cash? Read our articles on the best brokers for interest on uninvested EUR cash and uninvested USD cash.
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