'Cascading' advice wanted

ClaretPaul

I have a number of bank accounts offering higher interest, which I fund each month by sending money to each from my main bank account and back again (several days later) via direct debits. I want to change the method, so I' m using the same money to go into each account (I have heard this described as cascading), I have heard people (including Martin) say that you set the direct debits so that the money goes in one day and out the next. But I am a little concerned about what happens with weekends and bank holidays etc. If the payment is delayed, then the bank could try to pay the "out" direct debit before the "in" direct debit has arrived. Can anyone provide advice based on their own experience?

grumbler

Standing orders, not direct debits?
If accounts are used for savings, i.e. have sizeable balances, it's not a big deal if an outgoing payment is debited sometimes before the incoming one is credited.

colsten

ClaretPaul wrote: »

I have heard this described as cascading

It's not a term I have seen on this forum, where there are many people who have multiple accounts and who send money round them on a regular basis.

ClaretPaul wrote: »

I have heard people (including Martin) say that you set the direct debits so that the money goes in one day and out the next.

Martin will not have said you can use direct debits as it is impossible. If anyone else said it, they don't know what they are talking about.

You can, however, use SOs, and most people using SOs just send the money in and out on the same day. At present, all banks bar Tesco have the same rules for processing SOs at weekends and on bank holidays. There has been extensive discussion on this forum about sending money round various accounts. It would be worth your while searching for these discussions.

ClaretPaul

Sorry, I should have written standing orders. Not all of the accounts have sizeable balances. Some are used to get other extras, such as travel insurance and the £5 a month from Halifax.

msallen

I do mine manually nowadays, but I used to do them via SO. For those accounts with a balance I set the outgoing SO the same date as the incoming, and for those without sufficient balance I set the outgoing 3 days later.

ClaretPaul

Thanks msallen I will do that.