Cash ISA
Easy-access
Virgin Money Defined Access Cash ISA
interest rate
£20,000
maximum per year
by WInvest
Who is Virgin Money?
Virgin Money is a UK retail bank offering savings, mortgages and everyday banking products. It aims to combine competitive rates with easy-to-use online and app-based account management. As with other UK banks and building societies, deposits in Virgin Money savings and ISA accounts are protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to eligible limits.
Pros and cons
- Pros
- Competitive variable interest rate—currently around ~4.01% AER tax-free for up to three withdrawals per year, helping your savings grow faster if you leave money in
- Easy access—you can withdraw money whenever you need it without penalties (just keep count of withdrawals)
- No minimum balance to open (£1 minimum), and you can make unlimited additional deposits up to your ISA allowance
- Cons
- After three withdrawals in a calendar year, the interest rate drops to a lower variable rate (e.g., around ~1.10%–1.25% AER)
- Interest is variable and can rise or fall over time with market conditions
- Not a fully flexible ISA in all respects: the defined access term means frequent withdrawals reduce your effective earnings if you make more than three in a year
What is a Cash ISA?
A Cash ISA is a savings account where all interest you earn is completely tax-free. Every UK resident aged 18 or over gets an annual ISA allowance at the start of each tax year. For the 2025/26 tax year (ending 5 April 2026), the allowance is £20,000, and from April 2027 it will reduce to £12,000. Cash ISAs come in different types, including easy-access accounts and fixed-term accounts.
What is an easy-access Cash ISA?
An easy-access Cash ISA allows you to withdraw your money whenever you need it, without paying any penalties. The interest rate is variable, so it can rise or fall over time. Some easy-access ISAs are also flexible, meaning withdrawn money can be replaced without affecting your allowance.
Who is Virgin Money Defined Access Cash ISA good for?
The Virgin Money Defined Access Cash ISA is well-suited to savers who want tax-free interest and easy online access to their money while earning a competitive rate — as long as they don’t plan to make frequent withdrawals. It’s ideal for people with short-to-medium-term savings goals who expect to leave money untouched most of the time and appreciate the simplicity of digital account management. However, if you anticipate needing to withdraw often, the reduced interest after three withdrawals might make other easy-access or flexible ISA products more attractive.
WInvest Rating
3.96 ★★★★
5.0 ★★★★★
Cash ISA transfer as it should be done
Approximately one year ago, I had an upsetting experience transferring my Vanguard non-invested ISA cash to Virgin Money. At that time I complained to Vanguard about their excessive delay and was compensated. It therefore came as a very refreshing surprise when today Virgin Money transferred this same ISA to my new provider, Shawbrook, within 24 hours! Will most probably be going back to Virgin Money at some future day.
4.0 ★★★★
Good, but access via app would be appreciated
I have a Cash ISA with Virgin Money. The account was straightforward to open and I haven’t had a problem since opening, however the ISA can only be accessed via full login on a browser. Access via the app would be much appreciated.
2.0 ★★
Reasonable interest vs. poor customer experience
The savings rates reasonably competitive for a well known bank but the online banking experience is painful. 1 – When I attempted to log in today I discovered that the process has changed from entering 3 random characters of my password to entering the whole password and receiving a code on my phone. That’s fine – two factor security is a good, but why not tell everyone you’re doing it so it doesn’t feel like I’ve logged onto to a scam site. 2- I wanted to split the funds in a recently maturing fixed rate cash ISA across two new VM ISA accounts. Why was this not possible ? Instead I had to let it roll over into a flexible ISA and then message VM to ask it to be done manually, losing money in a low interest account while it takes more than a week for you to move my money internally.
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Cash ISA
Easy-access
Minimum deposit
Maximum allowance
£20,000 per year
How to open?
Interest paid
Is flexible?