Interest

Interest is the money you earn on savings or pay when you borrow money.

1 min read Saving More Money

What it means

Interest is the money you earn on savings or pay when you borrow money. It's usually shown as a percentage of the amount saved or borrowed.

Example

If you save £1,000 at 5% interest for one year, you'll earn about £50 if the rate stays the same.

Why it matters

Interest affects how quickly savings grow and how much borrowing costs.

The same interest rate can have a very different impact over many years.

Do all accounts pay the same interest?

No. Rates vary between providers and products.

Related terms

This term comes up a lot when you're saving money.

Learn this properly in Seed

Short, interactive lessons that turn what you've just read into something you can actually use.

Try now