The best building society savings accounts However, to qualify for this rate customers need to already hold a Derbyshire product for a minimum of three months. Dunfermline - which like the Derbyshire is now also owned by Nationwide - also offers a five-year bond paying 3.8pc. The same terms apply. Melton Mowbray BS More famous for its pork pie, this building society based in this sleepy Leicestershire town also boasts one of the best online notice accounts. Its 100-day notice account pays 3.1pc and can be opened with just a minimum balance of £1,000. Unlike many comparable accounts offered by banks, this does not include a short-term bonus rate. Hanley Economic BS This tiny building society - based in Hanley, Stoke on Trent - offers the most competitive notice account. It's 180-day postal account pays a rate 3.2pc. Savers need a minimum of £5,000 to open the account and as it is run by post it is available nationwide. This account is only suitable for those who don't need instant access to their money - early access will mean savers forfeit 180 days' interest. However, Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk said savers still got a good rate, without having to lock their money away for years. Coventry BS Coventry offers a 18-month fixed-rate bond paying 3.65pc. This is second in the best-buy tables, marginally behind the 3.7pc paid by the Cheshire BS on its 18-month bond. However, this deal is only available to its existing members. But the Coventry deal is available online, via telephone and in branch. The minimum balance is just £1. The humble building society is aiming to steal a march on its bigger banking rivals. At a time when customers are becoming disillusioned with our high street banks, these mutual organisations - owned by their members rather than shareholders - claim that they provide an alternative. As our front page story on discounted mortgage deals highlights, building societies are not whiter than white. However, many regional societies do still offer their local customers market-leading rates for other products such as savings accounts. Check these out because there may be one near you. Saffron Building Society When it comes to long-term value for savers, building societies seem to perform far better than the banks. Fewer mutuals rely on short-term bonus rates to push their savings accounts to the top of the best-buy tables. Andrew Hagger, of Moneynet.co.uk, said: "When you look at the best-paying internet savings accounts that don't have introductory bonuses, you find that eight of the top 10 providers are mutuals." Pick of the crop is currently Saffron, paying 2.76pc on its online savings account. The account can be opened by going to saffronbs.co.uk or calling 0800 072 1100. It may be worth noting that neither of the two banks to appear in this list is a high street clearing bank - they are Sainsbury's and Virgin Money (both paying 2.7pc). Coventry Building Society Mutuals also tend to be far more competitive that high street banks when it comes to cash-based Junior Isas (parents also have the option of using this tax-free allowance to invest in shares for their children). All of the top five deals are currently offered by building societies, with the top payers being Coventry and Nationwide, both offering 3.25pc on these accounts - substantially higher than the 3pc being paid by Halifax and Lloyds TSB. As with all Junior Isas, the maximum that can be deposited in any one year is £3,600. For more information contact Coventry on 0845 766 5522 or visit thecoventry.co.uk. Barnsley Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society For those who can afford to lock their money away to secure a higher rate, Barnsley Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society are both paying 3.55pc on one-year fixed-rate bonds. Both accounts can be run online and are available to customers outside each society's regional base. This may appear to be a slightly lower rate than the 3.6pc paid on a one-year bond from Cahoot (part of Santander). However, that deal is available only to those with a minimum of £25,000 to invest; by contrast, both of these accounts can be opened with just a £1,000 balance. For more information call Barnsley on 0845 120 0100 (barnsley-bs.co.uk).