Last updated: 2 November 2026. Rates and terms checked against Chip’s own pages and its Summary Box dated 23 October 2026.

The headline is 4.86% AER. The clause that matters is further down: if you transfer out or close a Smart Cash ISA, Chip charges what its Summary Box calls an “exit penalty”, made up of any unpaid interest on your deposits.

Because interest is only paid on the 10th business day of the following month, that penalty is never zero. On £20,000 at the boosted rate, it works out at roughly £36 to £112, depending on the day your transfer completes.

This review covers what the account pays, what happens if the Bank of England moves on 5 November, how the FSCS cover really works, and who should think twice.

Table of contents

• Overview
• The rate: what 4.86% is made of
• The exit penalty, in pounds
• Transfers and withdrawals
• FSCS protection and the bank panel
• What real users say
• Pros and cons
• How to open an account
• Verdict
• FAQ

Overview

The Smart Cash ISA is Chip’s flexible, app-only cash ISA. It replaced the older Chip Cash ISA, which is now closed to new customers and which ran on ClearBank.

The structure is different from the old product. Chip describes itself as “not a bank”, and it places Smart Cash ISA money with a panel of banks. The ISA manager named in the Summary Box is Chip Financial (Investments) Ltd.

Feature	Smart Cash ISA
New customer rate	4.86% AER variable for 365 days
Standard rate	3.50% AER / 3.45% gross, variable tracker
Tracker margin	0.30% gross below Bank Rate (3.75%)
Interest paid	Monthly, on the 10th business day
Withdrawals	Unlimited, next working day, no fee
Flexible	Yes, replace within the same tax year in the same account
Transfer out	Up to 15 business days to a cash ISA; unpaid interest is forfeited
Eligibility	18+, UK resident, app only

The rate: what 4.86% is made of

The 4.86% is a 3.50% standard rate plus a 1.36% boost that lasts 365 days from the day you open the account. After that you drop to the standard rate, whatever it is by then.

On £20,000, the boost is worth about £272 of the £972 you would earn in a full year at today’s rates. Those figures ignore the exit penalty, which comes next.

The boost is for new customers only. Chip’s definition is strict: someone who has “never previously transacted in a Chip account” and has no other promotional rate on a Chip product. So existing Chip users, including those coming over from the old Cash ISA, should check the rate shown in the app rather than assume 4.86%.

The 5 November factor

This is a tracker, so the standard rate follows Bank Rate. The next decision is due on 5 November.

A 0.25-point cut would take the standard rate to 3.20% gross, or about 3.25% AER. The Summary Box promises 14 days’ notice of a change to your disadvantage. It doesn’t say how the boost behaves when Bank Rate moves; its example simply assumes Bank Rate stays at 3.75%.

Chip’s marketing says “no unexpected rate drops” on the same page that describes a variable tracker. Read that as a promise about process, not about the rate.

How it compares

Moneyfacts Compare’s list of 27 October put these among the top easy-access cash ISAs. That list still showed Chip at 4.82%; its Summary Box of 23 October puts the rate at 4.86%.

Provider	AER at the time	Bonus
Trading 212	4.87%	1.27% for 12 months, via Moneyfacts promo code by 9 December
Chip Smart Cash ISA	4.82% (now 4.86%)	1.27% (now 1.36%) for 12 months
Plum	4.66%	2.10% for 12 months

The gap at the top is tiny, so the terms decide it. Moneyfacts flags against Chip’s entry that no interest is paid for the month if you close or transfer out. Before choosing any rival, ask the same question: what happens to accrued interest when I leave?

The exit penalty, in pounds

The Summary Box wording is plain: on closure or transfer out, Chip “will charge an exit penalty consisting of any unpaid interest on your deposits”. Chip’s product page puts it more softly, saying you “forfeit any unpaid interest”.

Timing is what makes it bite. October’s interest isn’t paid until mid-November. So on any given day, you always have between about two and six weeks of earned interest sitting unpaid.

In November and December 2026, the 10th business days fall on 13 November and 14 December. A transfer completing just after the first date loses about 14 days of interest. One completing just before the second loses about 43.

Balance and rate	Daily interest	Lose 14 days	Lose 43 days
£20,000 at 4.86% AER	£2.61	£36	£112
£20,000 at 3.50% AER	£1.89	£26	£81
£50,000 at 4.86% AER	£6.51	£91	£280
£50,000 at 3.50% AER	£4.72	£66	£203

Our estimates, using simple daily interest on the gross equivalent of each AER and no rate changes.

What that does to the headline rate

Stay exactly 12 months and leave, and the effective return falls from 4.86% to somewhere between about 4.67% and 4.29%. Leave after six months and it is about 4.49% to 3.71%.

This doesn’t end with the boost. The term applies for as long as you hold the account, so it still applies when you are on 3.50% and looking for something better, which is exactly when most people would move.

Can you avoid it?

We found nothing in the Summary Box that switches it off. Timing helps: ask for a transfer so that it completes just after a payment date, not just before. But a transfer can take up to 15 business days and you don’t fully control the finish.

Taking money out as a withdrawal doesn’t trigger the penalty while the account stays open, and Chip charges no withdrawal fee. But that money leaves the ISA wrapper. You can only replace it in the same tax year and in the same account, so it isn’t a route to another provider.

Also note that Group Terms clause 10 says interest “is paid up until the date of closure or funds being transferred out”. We couldn’t find an explanation in the documents of how that squares with the exit penalty. If you are affected, it is a fair question to put to Chip in writing.

Transfers and withdrawals

• Withdrawals: unlimited and fee-free, reaching your linked bank by the next working day. Chip says this isn’t instant because funds are spread across several banks, each with its own timings.
• Transfers in: one cash ISA at a time, and it must be the whole ISA. Chip reserves the right to decline a transfer in.
• Transfers out: up to 15 business days to another cash ISA, or 30 calendar days to another type of ISA. Your account is restricted while it is processed.
• Partial transfers: Chip told one customer on Trustpilot that it doesn’t support partial ISA transfers, or direct moves between its Cash ISA and Stocks and Shares ISA.
• Reopening: once closed, you can’t open another Smart Cash ISA in the same tax year.
• Cooling off: 14 calendar days from opening.

The annual limit is £20,000. Chip’s FAQ still carries a note saying cash ISA limits are changing from April 2027 for under-65s, but the 28 October Budget reversed the planned cut to £12,000. We covered other Budget ISA changes in our piece on the First Time Buyer ISA.

FSCS protection and the bank panel

Chip’s cover statement, “£120,000”, needs reading closely. Its protection page says the limit is per person, per bank, and is shared with anything you already hold at that bank.

So if part of your ISA sits at Barclays and you already have savings at Barclays, those balances count together. Chip’s terms also say that accrued, unpaid interest only becomes FSCS protected once credited.

The protection page names HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, Qatar National Bank, Santander, National Bank of Kuwait (International) and Nationwide. The product page’s FAQ lists Virgin Money instead of Nationwide. Chip says the panel can change and “may” spread your money, and we couldn’t find how you see your own split, so ask in the app if you hold large sums at any of these names.

Chip isn’t the only savings firm changing how accounts work: see our guide to Charter Savings Bank’s new online services.

What real users say

Chip scores 4.3 on Trustpilot from 5,174 reviews when we checked on 2 November, with 78% five-star and 13% one-star. Trustpilot notes that Chip invites customers to review. The praise is mostly about the app and quick customer support.

Recent reviews that mention the Smart Cash ISA are much more mixed. These are individual customers’ accounts, which we haven’t verified:

• Several reviewers object to the exit penalty and estimate the loss at 14 to 43 days of interest. Two say they have taken complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service after Chip rejected them.
• One says the absence of a sort code and account number means transfers can’t use the faster electronic route, stretching the wait. Another reports more than three months trying to move an ISA away. Chip’s reply suggested the wrong provider may have been chosen on the transfer form.
• Reviewers holding the older Cash ISA say they were told its rate would fall sharply unless they moved to the Smart version.
• On the positive side, others describe easy transfers in and fast help when something went wrong.

Pros and cons

Pros

• A top-tier easy-access cash ISA rate for 12 months
• Unlimited fee-free withdrawals and full flexibility within the tax year
• Standard rate is linked to Bank Rate by a stated margin, so you can see what should happen when it moves
• Monthly interest and a well-rated app

Cons

• An exit penalty of about two to six weeks’ interest, with no end date
• Whole-ISA transfers only, with up to 15 business days out
• Withdrawals take a working day rather than arriving instantly
• FSCS limit is shared with what you already hold at each panel bank
• App only, with the boost restricted to customers new to Chip

How to open an account

1. Download the Chip app and create an account. You must be 18 or over and a UK resident.
2. Choose the Smart Cash ISA on the Savings tab, and check the rate and Summary Box shown there.
3. Link your bank to pay in, or request a transfer of a whole existing cash ISA.

Current terms are on the Smart Cash ISA page. For another app offer where the detail sits behind the headline, see our Scottish Widows app review.

Verdict

As a place to hold money for a full year or longer, with no plan to move in the short term, the Smart Cash ISA pays well and is easy to use. The rate is real.

But “Clear terms. No surprises.” is a hard line to square with a charge that takes up to six weeks of interest whenever you leave. It matters most to rate chasers, who are the savers a boosted rate attracts, and to anyone planning to transfer when the boost ends in 12 months.

If you do choose Chip, read the Summary Box first, build the penalty into your sums, and compare it with what your alternative does on exit. This is general information, not personal advice.

FAQ

Is the Chip Smart Cash ISA safe?

Chip is FCA authorised, and eligible deposits with its partner banks have FSCS protection up to £120,000 per person, per bank. That limit is shared with your other money at the same bank, and unpaid interest isn’t covered until it is credited.

How long does a Smart Cash ISA withdrawal take?

Chip says funds reach your linked bank account by the end of the next working day. Withdrawals have no fee and no minimum.

Do you lose interest if you transfer out?

Yes. Chip’s Summary Box charges an exit penalty equal to any unpaid interest. Since interest is paid on the 10th business day of the following month, that is usually about two to six weeks’ worth.

Can I transfer part of my Chip ISA?

The Summary Box says transfers in must be the whole ISA, and Chip has told a customer it doesn’t support partial ISA transfers. Check with Chip before starting a move out.

Can existing Chip customers get 4.86%?

The boost requires that you have never previously transacted in a Chip account and hold no other Chip promotional rate, so most existing users won’t qualify.

Is the Smart Cash ISA flexible?

Yes. You can withdraw and replace money in the same tax year, in the same account, without using more of your allowance.

Sources: Chip Smart Cash ISA page; Summary Box, 23 October 2026; Chip Group Terms; How Chip protects your money; Bank of England Bank Rate.