Best Interest Rates on Uninvested Cash (September 2026)

IG pays interest on uninvested GBP up to £100,000 in a GIA, SIPP or ISA account. Unfortunately, you don’t earn interest on CFD or spread betting accounts so you will have to move your money across to earn on cash. I suspect this will change in the future, as IG cross-sells investment and trading products. Also, unlike other brokers, you have to be an active investor to receive interest, so you cannot treat it like a bank account and just leave your cash there without doing anything.

As with all interactive investor pricing structures, they are a little complex, as a lot of it is scaled and dependent on what type of account you have. For ii’s ISA, Junior ISA, and trading accounts, cash balances will receive a certain amount of interest on the first £20,000, then more on the value between £20,000 and £50,000. If you have an account with more than £100,000 in it, you’ll get the best rate.

InvestEngine does not offer interest on uninvested cash.

Lightyear customers can earn a higher rate on cash by allocating their money to Vaults, or money market funds, which are managed by BlackRock. Money market funds are treated as investments and, as such, do not receive the standard Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guarantee on balances should they fail and lose money. It is rare for a money market fund to fail, but it could still happen, particularly in conditions of extreme market volatility.

IBKR offers decent interest on uninvested cash, but you only get the full amount if you have over $100,000 (or equivalent) on account, including cash and investment. It is not great for small accounts, though, as there is no interest payable on balances and portfolios below £8,000.

Moneyfarm does not offer interest on uninvested cash.

AJ Bell’s rate dropped to 0.75% on 1 Feb, 2026, for balances up to £2,000 and 0% for over £2,000. It pays decent interest on cash balances for its SIPP and Junior SIPP accounts. For stocks and shares ISAs, the max interest is higher than with share dealing accounts where interest rate payments are paid quarterly, and are scaled.

Hargreaves Lansdown has increased interest rates on its accounts, bringing it further in line with competitors. Among its accounts, the SIPP offers the best rate for uninvested cash followed by the ISA, then general investing account. On 10 Jan, 2026, its tiers changed: the lowest rate applies for £1-£19,999.99 and the highest rate is now only on balances above £1m.

Saxo dropped its rates in 2025, and now only pays a fixed rate of interest on balances over £5,000. To get their top interest on cash, you need between £1m and £2m in a VIP account.

The ISA and Lifetime ISA on AJ Bell’s Dodl simplified investment app offer one of the best interest rates among competitors. However, Dodl does not offer interest on uninvested cash in a general investment account or SIPP (pension).

CMC Invest pays interest on uninvested cash held in a general investment account (GIA), with higher rates for the Plus and Premium accounts.

The level of interest paid is determined by how much money users keep in their account. To get the best rate, you need to have over $50,000 in your account.

Freetrade offers its maximum interest on up to £3,000 in uninvested cash under its Plus account subscription plan, which charges £9.99 a month. Freetrade’s lowest tier, the Basic Account plan, which is free to use, offers interest of 1% up to £1,000. The Basic plan offers a general account, while the Premium plan offers access to an ISA and personal pension.

Trading 212 currently pays 3.8% AER on uninvested GBP cash, with interest calculated and paid daily and no minimum or maximum balance. You have to opt in to earn interest; otherwise your cash is held with banks and does not receive the advertised rate. The main catch is that, once enabled, some cash may be held in qualifying money market funds (QMMFs). Unlike bank deposits, money in QMMFs is treated as an investment and is not protected by the FSCS.