Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

Reed_Richards

Ocelot said:

You would lose a sum commensurate to 180 day's interest if transferring. You would not additionally lose other interest.

For example if you had 10,000 at 4%, with an 180 day penalty, you'd pay 197.26 only (180/365 * 400), irrespective of how much interest you may or may not have already earned on the ISA.

But the calculation is usually made from the date of closure so the £10,000 in the above example would be the amount in your account after all accrued interest up until the date of closure had been added.

kjs31

I would like to transfer my cash ISA into Metro Bank’s 12 month fix. I can’t work out whether I need to subscribe for the current year or not but assuming I need to can I just not pay anything in for this year and take out another cash ISA later if I want to? I have a sharesave maturing in January that I’m going to put into my stocks and shares ISA to avoid capital gains tax so I won’t know how much of my current year’s subscription I have left until that’s done so can’t subscribe to the current year yet. 

“Save as little as £1 and as much as £20,000 in your Fixed Rate Cash ISA. Plus, you can transfer in money from previous years’ ISAs.”

The above implies that I need to pay in this year. It’s an open in branch thing so I can’t just go through an online application to check. Anyone opened one in branch and did you need to pay something in from the get go? 

refluxer

kjs31 said:

I would like to transfer my cash ISA into Metro Bank’s 12 month fix. I can’t work out whether I need to subscribe for the current year or not but assuming I need to can I just not pay anything in for this year and take out another cash ISA later if I want to? I have a sharesave maturing in January that I’m going to put into my stocks and shares ISA to avoid capital gains tax so I won’t know how much of my current year’s subscription I have left until that’s done so can’t subscribe to the current year yet. 

“Save as little as £1 and as much as £20,000 in your Fixed Rate Cash ISA. Plus, you can transfer in money from previous years’ ISAs.”

The above implies that I need to pay in this year. It’s an open in branch thing so I can’t just go through an online application to check. Anyone opened one in branch and did you need to pay something in from the get go? 

I'm not familiar with Metro but, provided they work in the same way as all other ISA providers who accept transfers (and I couldn't see anything in the account terms that suggests otherwise), then a transfer-in should be sufficient to fund the account and there shouldn't be a requirement to pay in anything from the current tax year's ISA allowance.

If that's the case, then the statement you quoted could be reworded like this in order to make things a bit clearer... “Save as little as £1 and as much as £20,000 in your Fixed Rate Cash ISA and/or you can transfer in money from previous years’ ISAs.”

If you need further reassurance, their fixed rate ISA T&Cs actually state "There is no minimum amount required to open a Fixed Rate Cash ISA".

kjs31

refluxer said:

I'm not familiar with Metro but, provided they work in the same way as all other ISA providers who accept transfers (and I couldn't see anything in the account terms that suggests otherwise), then a transfer-in should be sufficient to fund the account and there shouldn't be a requirement to pay in anything from the current tax year's ISA allowance.

If that's the case, then the statement you quoted could be reworded like this in order to make things a bit clearer... “Save as little as £1 and as much as £20,000 in your Fixed Rate Cash ISA and/or you can transfer in money from previous years’ ISAs.”

If you need further reassurance, their fixed rate ISA T&Cs actually state "There is no minimum amount required to open a Fixed Rate Cash ISA".

Thanks. I’m off to open one now. Will report back. I did call their helpline but although it was apparently the ISA team she didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. She kept saying switching by which I assume she meant transfer but couldn’t seem to understand what I was asking about the current tax year. 

Zopa_Trooper

Moneybox now showing on the MSE website at 5.09% but still showing in the app at 5%. Fingers crossed it will update soon. Very happy with Moneybox.

Just spotted in their website, it says *New customer rate. I wonder????

kjs31

kjs31 said:

Thanks. I’m off to open one now. Will report back. I did call their helpline but although it was apparently the ISA team she didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. She kept saying switching by which I assume she meant transfer but couldn’t seem to understand what I was asking about the current tax year. 

Metro weren’t bothered about whether I funded from the current tax year or not. Once the account was open I was told to fund within 30 days. The guy who opened the account for me completed the ISA transfer form and I’m not expecting to have to do anything beyond that. The interest gets backdated to the date I opened the account apparently. Won’t that mean that I’ll get interest from the old provider and Metro during the time it takes to complete the transfer? 

orange-juice

Zopa_Trooper said:

Moneybox now showing on the MSE website at 5.09% but still showing in the app at 5%. Fingers crossed it will update soon. Very happy with Moneybox.

Just spotted in their website, it says *New customer rate. I wonder????

Yeah I think it’s a different bonus rate - 0.94 vs 0.85%. 5% showing for me too.

Zopa_Trooper

orange-juice said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

Moneybox now showing on the MSE website at 5.09% but still showing in the app at 5%. Fingers crossed it will update soon. Very happy with Moneybox.

Just spotted in their website, it says *New customer rate. I wonder????

Yeah I think it’s a different bonus rate - 0.94 vs 0.85%. 5% showing for me too.

Just had a message confirming that the offer is for NEW customers only, that despite our ISA being variable. I'm going to move my money, not because the new rate is a great deal more but as a matter of principle.

2010

Don`t think Moneybox is part of the electronic transfer system,so form filling and delay.
Marcus is the same, that`s why I left them, took a couple of weeks to do.

RG2015

The Virgin Money 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA Exclusive Issue 7 at 5.85% has been replaced by Issue 8 at 5.65%.

The clock is now ticking for the 30 day window to fund an already open account.