Savings platforms offer the ability to manage your cash savings in one place and can offer the best deals and rate-boosting cashback.
The platforms may not always offer the best rates on the market, but they have a selection of offers that challenge the top spots on the savings charts.
And by giving savers the opportunity to monitor their accounts in one place, it can mean they are less likely to slip up and fall into a low rate when the deals end.
Our savings expert, Sylvia Morris, takes a look.
> Savings platforms: Check the best rates in our special tables
Pick and mix: Savings platforms are essentially online savings account supermarkets, giving you access to accounts from over 60 banks and building societies in one place.
Savings platforms tell me they are becoming increasingly popular. And they are determined to bring their products to a wider audience.
Flagstone, one of the largest platforms with 600,000 customers, launched its first television advertisement last week to show how it can help savers.
The group has grown in popularity and customer deposits increased by £1 billion every three months last year.
Meanwhile, Raisin has launched another £50 bonus offer that can effectively boost rates for top buys.
Savings platforms are essentially online savings account supermarkets, giving you access to accounts from over 60 banks and building societies in one place.
The goal is to make it easy for you to make the most of your savings by being able to compare all offers in one place and eliminating time-consuming research and form filling.
You upload your data on the platform when you register, and that’s it. You don’t need to do it again and again to open another account listed on the website.
You can choose and combine accounts, whether it’s a fixed rate bond, an easy access account, or any combination you want.
You will then be able to see all your savings and accounts in one place and using a single password.
Outside of a platform, the entire process can be tedious. Savers are forced to overcome the rigmarole of filling out an application form every time they open an account.
Each provider must then verify you electronically through a credit agency if you are a new customer.
And sometimes the details don’t match, for example if you’ve moved house. Some providers say that no account can be opened. Others ask for more evidence.
Some still ask you to send certified copies of your driver’s license or passport with a letter stating your address. At this point, you would move on to the next bank.
I must admit that I have not saved on any of these platforms. This is because there is a risk that you will miss out on the higher rate if it is not on sale.
Each platform offers different accounts, depending on what they have negotiated with banks and building societies.
Rates and providers are constantly changing. Apart from Hargreaves Lansdown, they do not offer tax-free cash Isas. Flagstone, Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings and Raisin UK are the main platforms.
> Discover more about savings platforms and check out their best offers
> Earn 5.78% interest with Prosper’s 365-day notice savings offer
Coventry’s deal with Co-op: what it means for savers
Coventry Building Society has signed along the dotted line to buy Co-operative Bank.
Its board says the £780m deal will deliver a stronger society, which will continue to offer decent savings accounts.
It will also give the society a larger branch network and allow it to offer a checking account.
It is now awaiting approval from the industry regulator and, if all goes well, expects the deal to close in the first three months of next year.
The two organizations will continue to operate as separate brands while Coventry works behind the scenes to bring them together.
You will also have full cover of £85,000 for each group under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for “several years”, the building society says.
