Natwest/RBS 2.85% esaver

edinburgher

As I opened this account today, am I right in thinking I won't be getting the bonus rate until the 15th of November?

d61mts

edinburgher wrote: »

As I opened this account today, am I right in thinking I won't be getting the bonus rate until the 15th of November?

If your account is fully opened then as its still Sept 30th then the 'next month' will be Oct 15th not November. If you're not an existing customer and have to prove your identity or any other delay, then your account will probably be opened in October, and so have the November wait.

Hamstar

Is the daily amount of withdrawal/transfer out limited to £10,000 (like the online natwest current account)? At least with a current account one can use a cheque to move in excess of £10K. What happens if you need to pay a large deposit electronically from an esaver account?

SimonM_2

edinburgher wrote: »

As I opened this account today, am I right in thinking I won't be getting the bonus rate until the 15th of November?

d61mts wrote: »

If your account is fully opened then as its still Sept 30th then the 'next month' will be Oct 15th not November. If you're not an existing customer and have to prove your identity or any other delay, then your account will probably be opened in October, and so have the November wait.

I think this is a good question, and it's clearly an area that causes confusion for people.

I too have opened one of these E-savings accounts to get the bonus interest rate, however I've applied online on September 30th, and would expect the Bonus interest to be earned from October 15th, and paid on the last business day of the month the same time as the standard interest is paid in to the account.

However, the question is when does the account get considered as being "opened"? Is it the date that you applied for it or the date that NatWest finally get round to processing the application and transfering the funds? With every other NatWest account that I've applied for online it has resulted in no account showing on the online banking until the initial deposit was actioned by NatWest - it isn't showing there currently, I can't pick it from the Your Accounts section, and can't select it in the Quick Transfers bit to move funds from my other accounts - that makes me think it isnt open yet.

With my previous accounts I've had a pack arrive in the post, containing info about the account, terms and conditions, and a letter confirming my inital deposit which needs to be signed and sent back (no idea why really as I had to be signed in to online banking to apply for it...), it isn't until they've received that back and processed it, usually days and days later, that anything happens with the account and the initial amount (£1 in my case) appears in the account.

So if that's the case, that'll be sometime in October - that'd suggest that I, and all the rest of us here opening it yesterday or today (29/30th September 2010), won't be earning bonus interest from Oct 15 but actually from Nov 15th.

Yet the Common Questions section of the account page quite clearly says:

How long does it take to open an e-savings account?

Are you an existing NatWest Online Banking customer? We’ll open your e-Savings account straightaway.

I do not believe this is true, for the reasons given above. This needs some real clarification from NatWest.

D1zzy

Hamstar wrote: »

Is the daily amount of withdrawal/transfer out limited to £10,000 (like the online natwest current account)? At least with a current account one can use a cheque to move in excess of £10K. What happens if you need to pay a large deposit electronically from an esaver account?

I believe the 10K limit is only for FP transactions, if you are happy for it to go BACS I don't think there is a limit.

D1zzy

SimonM wrote: »

However, the question is when does the account get considered as being "opened"? Is it the date that you applied for it or the date that NatWest finally get round to processing the application and transfering the funds? With every other NatWest account that I've applied for online it has resulted in no account showing on the online banking until the initial deposit was actioned by NatWest - it isn't showing there currently, I can't pick it from the Your Accounts section, and can't select it in the Quick Transfers bit to move funds from my other accounts - that makes me think it isnt open yet.

I am an existing customer and opened ny account yesterday - I was given an Acc no and sort code at the end of the app process but the account was not available online until today - £1 duly paid in electronically- everything else can wait 'til 15th Oct when I assume the bonus will start.

SimonM_2

D1zzy wrote: »

I am an existing customer and opened ny account yesterday - I was given an Acc no and sort code at the end of the app process but the account was not available online until today - £1 duly paid in electronically- everything else can wait 'til 15th Oct when I assume the bonus will start.

It sounds in your case that the account has been opened and fully working, but for several accounts that I've applied for in the past year that has never happened for me, and it has always been a matter of waiting for the pack to arrive just to sign to say I'm happy for my £1 to be paid out of my current account and in to the new one (not asking for any identity or anything else).

You should indeed be earning the bonus from October 15th, I think I should be too, but I'll not be happy to find that it doesn't start until the month after just because NatWest have been slow at 'opening' the account.

akiller

My savings account has finally been added to my online bank account this morning (I'm an existing NatWest customer), hopefully I'll get the bonus starting from this month although my £1 deposit hasn't shown up yet. Not that it really matters, my savings are currently in my ING account which I recently realised was paying a pittiful amount of interest (0.48% or something).. it was about 6.8% when I opened it years back!

Don't suppose anyone knows how to make an account the 'default' with NatWest do they? I have a couple of ISAs from them too and whenever I go to pay my credit card it doesn't default to my current account rather my ISAs (and possibly this savings account now) which is quite annoying if you're not paying too much attention.

I noticed the savings account has a different sort code to the rest of my NatWest accounts, is there a reason for that? I'm not bothered but it would have made sense to have it located at my local brand (Derbyshire) rather than in Leeds I would have thought.

cathh70

akiller wrote: »

I noticed the savings account has a different sort code to the rest of my NatWest accounts, is there a reason for that? I'm not bothered but it would have made sense to have it located at my local brand (Derbyshire) rather than in Leeds I would have thought.

The Sort code is the online only account code, as it is an account operated solely online. It is not a branch operated account, hence you not getting a local sort code.

neilsedaka

In an attempt to clarify the confusion I conducted this online chat with NatWest a few minutes ago.

Question: I have some questions regarding the e-savings account please.
What is the definition of account opening date?
Answer: That is when the account is active and open on your online banking
Question: On which date does the account start earning standard interest?
Answer: As soon as money is in the account. It is calculated daily and paid monthly.
Question: Thanks. On which date does the account start earning bonus interest?
Answer: The bonus interest is from the start for 12 months
Question: So the bonus interest is earned as soon as the money is in the account, the same as standard interest?
Answer: Yes
Question: On which date is the monthly interest added to the account?
Answer: Depends on your statement date, I could not tell you that now
Question: For an account opened on 29th September and showing online on 30th September, on which date does the 12 months bonus interest stop being earned?
Answer: It would be from the date it is active above. So 12 months from the 30th September
Question: So the 12 months would end 29th September 2011?
Answer: No the 30th, it would be exactly 12 months from the date active and online
Question: Ok, thanks. Could you please explain what this statement on your website means in plain English .....
"When is the bonus paid? Your bonus interest will be paid monthly for 12 consecutive months (along with the standard interest payment) starting on the 15th day of the month after the month in which you open your account"
Answer: It is all that we have covered already. The rate combined (standard and bonus) is 2.85% This will be paid for 12 months from the date it is active. 15th day of the month as above is when your interest is paid
Question: Ok, so the 15th is the day in the month that the interest is added to the account?
Answer: Yes
Question: Many thanks for answering my questions.
Answer: Sorry not the 15th...
Answer: The 15th day of the month from when you open the account, so the statement date we spoke of earlier
Answer: You're welcome