The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

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cwep2 said:

aaj123 said:

Nick_C said:

Santander eSaver Limited Edition - NLA

Increasing to 3.25% "soon".

Just got the following message when I logged on to online banking:-

Some good news

We're increasing the interest rate on your eSaver Limited Edition (Issue 1) to 3.25% AER / 3.20% gross (variable).

You don't need to do anything. The interest rate increase will be automatically applied to your account within the next five working days. There are no other changes to how your account works.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay where no income tax has been deducted. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.

Its doubly great when an account that is close to the best buy is also a real bank account with a sortcode and account number and with all the frills of faster payments, etc.

And for those who want a high street banking name without an app required to access it.

It's also worth pointing out that although almost every bank recommended here has the £85k FSCS compensation limit, Santander is also a GSIB (see https://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P211122.pdf) a Globally Systemically Important Bank it's seen as basically too big to fail and is much more likely to be backstopped by the (Spanish) government than a random challenger savings bank. Chase (=JPMorgan) amongst the leading pack of savings rates would also qualify, and HSBC and Barclays are there too, but not Natwest/RBS or Lloyds/Halifax/BoS.

No backstop or bailout is ever guaranteed though, so if you want to safeguard your deposits, best to stay under the FSCS £85k. As a systematically important bank, it is possible they'd be bailed out, but this cannot be guaranteed - not that you did guarantee it

Swipe

I just need NS&I to up their direct saver to 3.1% now

aaj123

alternate said:

aaj123 said:

Nick_C said:

Santander eSaver Limited Edition - NLA

Increasing to 3.25% "soon".

Just got the following message when I logged on to online banking:-

Some good news

We're increasing the interest rate on your eSaver Limited Edition (Issue 1) to 3.25% AER / 3.20% gross (variable).

You don't need to do anything. The interest rate increase will be automatically applied to your account within the next five working days. There are no other changes to how your account works.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay where no income tax has been deducted. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.

Its doubly great when an account that is close to the best buy is also a real bank account with a sortcode and account number and with all the frills of faster payments, etc.

A 'real' bank with dinosaur level of customer service,

May be over the phone but then again in over a decade with their 123 current account, I have never really needed to call them for anything. 

southone

cwep2 said:

aaj123 said:

Nick_C said:

Santander eSaver Limited Edition - NLA

Increasing to 3.25% "soon".

Just got the following message when I logged on to online banking:-

Some good news

We're increasing the interest rate on your eSaver Limited Edition (Issue 1) to 3.25% AER / 3.20% gross (variable).

You don't need to do anything. The interest rate increase will be automatically applied to your account within the next five working days. There are no other changes to how your account works.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay where no income tax has been deducted. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.

Its doubly great when an account that is close to the best buy is also a real bank account with a sortcode and account number and with all the frills of faster payments, etc.

And for those who want a high street banking name without an app required to access it.

It's also worth pointing out that although almost every bank recommended here has the £85k FSCS compensation limit, Santander is also a GSIB (see https://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P211122.pdf) a Globally Systemically Important Bank it's seen as basically too big to fail and is much more likely to be backstopped by the (Spanish) government than a random challenger savings bank. Chase (=JPMorgan) amongst the leading pack of savings rates would also qualify, and HSBC and Barclays are there too, but not Natwest/RBS or Lloyds/Halifax/BoS.

Spain may bailouts the Spanish arm of Santander but it would take the Bank of England to help on this side of the water

Band7

cwep2 said:

aaj123 said:

Nick_C said:

Santander eSaver Limited Edition - NLA

Increasing to 3.25% "soon".

Just got the following message when I logged on to online banking:-

Some good news

We're increasing the interest rate on your eSaver Limited Edition (Issue 1) to 3.25% AER / 3.20% gross (variable).

You don't need to do anything. The interest rate increase will be automatically applied to your account within the next five working days. There are no other changes to how your account works.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay where no income tax has been deducted. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.

Its doubly great when an account that is close to the best buy is also a real bank account with a sortcode and account number and with all the frills of faster payments, etc.

And for those who want a high street banking name without an app required to access it.

It's also worth pointing out that although almost every bank recommended here has the £85k FSCS compensation limit, Santander is also a GSIB (see https://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P211122.pdf) a Globally Systemically Important Bank it's seen as basically too big to fail and is much more likely to be backstopped by the (Spanish) government than a random challenger savings bank. Chase (=JPMorgan) amongst the leading pack of savings rates would also qualify, and HSBC and Barclays are there too, but not Natwest/RBS or Lloyds/Halifax/BoS.

Really bad idea to suggest there’s another safety net over and beyond FSCS 😡

Bridlington1

alternate said:

aaj123 said:

Nick_C said:

Santander eSaver Limited Edition - NLA

Increasing to 3.25% "soon".

Just got the following message when I logged on to online banking:-

Some good news

We're increasing the interest rate on your eSaver Limited Edition (Issue 1) to 3.25% AER / 3.20% gross (variable).

You don't need to do anything. The interest rate increase will be automatically applied to your account within the next five working days. There are no other changes to how your account works.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay where no income tax has been deducted. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.

Its doubly great when an account that is close to the best buy is also a real bank account with a sortcode and account number and with all the frills of faster payments, etc.

A 'real' bank with dinosaur level of customer service,

To be fair I've found their service pretty good over my time banking with them, which admittedly is under a year. Their customer service isn't as good as the likes of Saffron BS, YBS and Coventry BS but for a high street bank they're doing well IMHO. 

Having said that all my interactions with them have been in branch or via webchat so I can't comment on their phone service but they always seem helpful.

aaj123

One wonders how banking in this country even existed prior to 2009 when the FSCS limit was just £2K and then 90% protection until £33K.

Swipe

aaj123 said:

One wonders how banking in this country even existed prior to 2009 when the FSCS limit was just £2K and then 90% protection until £33K.

Prior to 2008, apart from Barings bank, you didn't really hear much of banks going under so people were less concerned about protection.

2010

If big banks can fail and need help such as the recent ones why is there a frenzy (on here)  to pile money into the obscurely named mobile app only banks.

Reminds me a lot when "asleep at the wheel" Ofgem, OK`ed all the minnow energy firms which went bust and now we are all paying for.

Icelandic banks that everyone piled into.
One day your money was there, next day it had disappeared.
UK government decided to refund all retail savers, hoping to get it back from Iceland.

GalacticaActual

Swipe said:

I just need NS&I to up their direct saver to 3.1% now

That  might happen after 6th April 2023, according to an article on the This Is Money website.

The Government has tasked NS&I with attracting £7.5 billion from savers in the next 12 months, despite its recent struggles to stop people leaving for better deals elsewhere.
During the next financial year — which starts on April 6 — it will have to rake in 25 per cent more than its current £6 billion for this year. It has a £3 billion margin either side of this target.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-11885841/