Group Product Design Manager

Flagstone's business team hits 50-bank milestone as UK SMEs make their cash reserves work harder. * Banking * 23.07.2026 10:19 am Flagstone, the UK's largest savings platform* for businesses and individuals, has revealed that the number of banks and building societies making their business savings accounts available to the platform's SME clients has expanded rapidly in the last 12 months - in a clear sign that SMEs are waking up to the advantages of actively managing their company cash for better returns and risk protection. Today, 56 savings providers are on Flagstone's business savings panel - a 37% increase from 41 banks in January 2025. Banks and building societies partnering with Flagstone for business savings include Société Générale, Santander International, Nationwide, OakNorth, and Allica. In mid-July, Flagstone's bank partners were offering over 200 savings accounts to Flagstone business savers on a mixture of instant access, notice and fixed terms. Over 90% of these accounts offer inflation-beating rates of return; and 16% offer competitive rates of 4.00% AER or over. Simon Atkins, European Head of Treasury and Financial Markets at Bank ABC, which has just launched an exclusive six-month fixed-term business savings account on the Flagstone platform offering 4.09% AER**: 'We are pleased to continue our partnership with Flagstone, providing its business customers with access to competitive deposit solutions across GBP, USD and EUR. As businesses take a more active approach to managing surplus cash reserves, partnerships such as this can help broaden their access to deposit options that meet their cash management needs.' In 2025, Flagstone recorded an 81% surge in direct deposits by UK SMEs onto the platform, and that growth trend continued strongly in the first half of 2026. Today 11,000 UK businesses manage their cash reserves on Flagstone's platform. As SMEs wake up to cash management, so too are banks tuning into the opportunity for business development in the SME banking space. Katie Horne, Banks Relationship Manager at Flagstone: 'Partnering with more than 50 banks is a significant milestone for our SME business. With us, they open new doors to business customers that might not have found or thought of them, and are able to provide a critical piece in the wider puzzle of providing multiple accounts and multiple banks to help SMEs maximise returns and minimise risk.' Research by Flagstone of UK SME financial decision makers has identified three critical factors driving demand from SMEs for better cash management and access to a wider pool of savings providers: * Generating a return on dormant cash: 51% of SME save nearly all their cash with high street banks, typically earning returns of less than 2%, if anything at all. * Protecting cash against risk of bank failure: 99% of companies with £500k to £1m in cash hold their funds with four or fewer banks, leaving over half potentially unprotected under FSCS rules. The average Flagstone SME client maintains six savings accounts - a combination of instant, short and longer-term fixed and notice terms. * Maintaining liquidity and access: Flagstone business clients spread cash across instant access, fixed term and notice accounts to balance returns with flexibility and availability. Horne: 'For a long time, generating income from your cash was a luxury only those businesses with time on their hands could think about. But, cash management has switched from luxury to necessity, particularly in a political and economic environment where running - or ideally growing - a business is hard. While businesses face pressures such as higher business rates, employment costs and late payments - finding fast, flexible and efficient ways to safely turn their dormant cash reserves into a secure and active income generator is crucial.' With 56 bank partners, Flagstone has reaffirmed its position as the UK's largest business savings platform. Across its business, individual and charity savings propositions, Flagstone customers can gain access to over 450 savings accounts from over 65 cash savings providers.

Savings platform Flagstone launches cash Isa to rival Hargreaves Lansdown: is it a good deal? Updated: 02:00 EST, 7 March 2026 Products featured in this article are independently selected by This is Money's specialist journalists. If you open an account using links which have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence. The savings platform Flagstone has launched a cash Isa, giving savers more choice over how to make the most of their money. You can manage multiple savings accounts through a savings platform. With a host of options available through one provider, they aim to make it easier for you to compare accounts and switch when better rates become available. But it's uncommon for savings platforms to offer tax-free accounts, with most providing just regular savings accounts or fixed-rate bonds. Hargreaves Lansdown is the only other major provider to do so. With Flagstone saying it's setting a 'new standard' for flexible tax-free saving, how does its cash Isa work - and how do the two major options compare? Stand off: Flagstone's cash Isa goes up against a similar product from Hargreaves Lansdown How does Flagstone's cash Isa work? Savings platforms let you manage what's essentially a savings portfolio from one account, and spread your funds across several accounts. You can monitor your money in one place and move it within the platform itself when you want to switch. It's less common for savings platforms to offer cash Isas, with both Hargreaves Lansdown and Flagstone being the two major providers to do so. Cash Isas must stay separate from other accounts, so you'll probably end up with two accounts on the savings platform - one for normal savings accounts with no tax-free wrapper, the other for cash Isas. The benefits of the cash Isa element remain the same. You can compare options quickly then easily spread your money and switch between them. Flagstone only offers easy-access cash Isas currently, while Hargreaves Lansdown also has fixed-rate Isas - though fixes still need to end before you can move your money between accounts. How do the two providers compare? Flagstone's cash Isa is initially bare bones compared with Hargreaves Lansdown's. The big catch is on what matters most - the rate. Flagstone's best rate is 3.6 per cent variable, on an easy-access Isa through LHV. Hargreaves Lansdown is currently offering 4.3 per cent variable*, on its own easy-access Isa provided in partnership with Shawbrook Bank. Flagstone also only has six accounts available, which are all easy-access options. But it's still early days for the platform, which says it will have more easy-access options to choose from by 5 April with fixed-rate accounts coming later in the year. Hargreaves Lansdown has nearly 30 cash Isa accounts available, covering both easy-access and fixed-rate deals. On the other hand, Flagstone does compare well on flexibility. It's possible to transfer Isas directly to Flagstone, while Hargreaves Lansdown has a quirk that requires you to transfer to its stocks and shares Isa first before moving money to the cash counterpart. Flagstone's Isa is also flexible, meaning you can withdraw money in the same tax year and replace it without affecting your Isa allowance. At Hargreaves Lansdown, any withdrawals reduce your allowance. Hargreaves Lansdown does win on the low £1 minimum deposit - Flagstone is asking for a large £10,000 to get started. Read our Hargreaves Lansdown review to find out how it performs as an investment platform. Is a savings platform worth it? Whether you plump for a savings platform like Flagstone or Hargreaves Lansdown at all depends on whether you like the convenience of managing multiple cash accounts on one platform, or whether you're happy to keep on top of accounts directly with providers. You can get higher rates directly through Prosper (4.5 per cent)*, Trading 212 (4.54 per cent)* and Etoro (4.59 per cent)*, although keep in mind these include 12-month boosts so your rate will drop after the year. Save money, make money. 4.54% cash Isa. Trading 212: 0.94% fixed 12-month bonus £100 cashback. Transfer or fund at least £10,000 with Prosper 4.61% cash Isa. Includes 12-month boost for new customers £3,000 cashback. 1% cashback up to £3,000 when transferring Earn up to £3,000. £100-£3,000 cashback for joining Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Terms and conditions apply on all offers. Somerset Boy, United Kingdom, 20 minutes ago You are hardly going to get rich quick on a paltry return of 3.6%! Not worth the bother of filling in the application form. The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of Daily Mail. Daily Mail does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content. More top stories. Best buy savings tables. FREE SAVINGS ALERTS The best rates straight to your inbox How this is Money can help. Don't miss. This is Money podcast. Inside saving & banking. 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