Banks and building societies have sneakily cut current account rates, while all the attention has been on mortgages and savings.

Six current account providers cut in-credit interest rates by up to 0.99 per cent last week, according to a survey by comparison firm Uswitch.

Intelligent Finance, the online brand owned by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), was the worst offender, with the rate on its current account chopped by 0.99 per cent to 1.24 per cent on November 3.

Meanwhile, Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, cut rates on its popular Flex account by up to half a point. Meanwhile, Lloyds, which is bidding to take over HBOS, reduced interest on its Premier Plus, Platinum Plus, Gold Plus and Classic Plus accounts by 0.48 per cent to 3.45 per cent on balances between £1 - £2,500.

Lloyds said the move was in response to October’s half point cut in Bank rate, so accountholders could face even bigger reductions following this month’s 1.5 percentage point move, which took Bank rate to a 53-year low of 3.5 per cent.

Louise Bond at uSwitch.com said: “This revenue-boosting move by six providers to reduce in-credit current account interest rates conveniently came in a week when headlines were focused on mortgage and savings rates. Those cynics among us could be forgiven for thinking that, whilst attention was diverted towards the base rate decision, providers were hoping that these rate reductions would slip unnoticed under the radar.

“Historically, credit current account interest rates have been rather pitiful, and many of the big banks still offer as little as 0.1 per cent. Unfortunately, with increasing consolidation in the banking sector, potentially resulting in a reduction in the number of competitive products available, consumers must act now to seek out the best deals.”

The news on current accounts came as separate research found that card firms have been putting up rates on store cards just in time for Christmas.

Rates climbed by one per cent in the past six months with the most expensive deals now charging more than 30 per cent, according to MoneyExpert.com.

The rate on store cards from both Karen Millen and Oasis have leapt from 24.9 per cent in May to 28.9 per cent this month, it said.

Sean Gardner, Director of MoneyExpert.com, said: “Store cards can be a useful way of qualifying for instant discounts but when it comes to borrowing they are a complete rip-off. The fear must be that with other forms of credit running dry, desperate consumers will be tempted into expensive deals as a last resort for Christmas.

Creation Account Cards, which runs the Clarks, Woolworths, Sainsbury’s, and Millets cards, has the highest APR at 30.9 per cent for payment other than by direct debit, according to Moneyexpert.