How to beat supermarket savings deals

Britain's supermarkets have begun their assault on the high street banks by rebranding and expanding their financial arms. But are their products any good? Ruth Jackson investigates what supermarket banks have to offer, and how to beat their savings deals.

The phoney war is over; the supermarkets have begun their assault on the high street banks. Last week Sainsbury's launched a big expansion of its banking arm by offering a major Nectar points deal to lure in new customers. Meanwhile, Tesco Personal Finance renamed itself Tesco Bank last month a big step towards the supermarket becoming a full-scale bank offering current accounts and mortgages.

Both supermarket giants have been quick to point out how terribly the banks have behaved recently. Indeed they would like to be seen as white knights, riding into banking to offer consumers financial products they can trust. But don't be fooled - these are businesses not charities. The key question is, how do their products measure up against those of traditional banking institutions?

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.