The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

fourmarks

janusdesign said:

Re: Secure Trust @ 3.30% - did anyone answer the question (which I can't find) as to whether you can make a test deposit of £1 or does it need to be the full £1k ?

You can test it out with a small deposit. I sent them £10 as a test and a few hours later they sent it back to my bank which is good enough confirmation for me. They will send me a pointless letter in a few days telling me they refused the £10 as it was to small a deposit.

Cold_comfort

cwep2 said:

Worth re-upping for those who are lucky enough to save closer to the max FSCS amount or can save more due to selling house or some other protected lifestyle event:

The Virgin Money Private Savings account pays 4.00% gross (4.06% APR). There is a £25/month fee to have a private banking account. The breakeven to be better than Chip at 3.55% is about £60k. On £85k the effective APR is 3.70%, obviously this goes up the more you save as the fee is fixed but interest is proportional to amount saved.

https://uk.virginmoney.com/private/savings/private-savings-account/#what-is-the-interest-rate

Another potential benefit is that it is locked to the Bank of England rate (Bank Rate -0.25%) and applies rate changes within a business day, so it has been that rate since 24th March. So when Chip was top of the charts at 3.40% the breakeven for Virgin to be better was around £47k.

Interesting and thank you but note this assumes you do not pay income tax. A basic rate income taxpayer receiving 4% interest on £60k will reach their annual personal savings allowance of £1k after 5 months (sooner if you receive interest elsewhere). After you've reached it, a basic rate taxpayer is liable to tax on the excess interest at 20%. Over a full year, on £85k the net advantage is negligible for a basic rate taxpayer except for periods when the interest rate difference is greater.

ForumUser7

Kent Reliance re BOE BR rise. I'm unsure if this means that the rates on existing accounts that are still available are going up, or if they will be withdrawing and releasing issues on/around 18th or sooner:

Bridlington1

My community finance bank easy access account now pays 3.56% on balances over £20K. There are some restrictions with regards to eligibility though:

• To open a savings account, you will need to:

  • be aged 18 or over
  • have a UK address (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • have a personal UK current bank account
  • become a member of one of our partner Credit Unions by matching the criteria of the Common Bond of our partner Credit Unions which are:
    • If you are employed, you will be automatically approved and matched to one of our partner Credit Unions based on the industry you work in.
    • If you are not employed (retired, student, unemployed) you can open an account if you are member of an applicable Trade Union or Association (e.g. CO-OP, National Trust).
    • Sharing a household with, and being a relative of, an existing member of the Credit Union.

TiVo_Lad

Bridlington1 said:

My community finance bank easy access account now pays 3.56% on balances over £20K. There are some restrictions with regards to eligibility though:

• To open a savings account, you will need to:

  • be aged 18 or over
  • have a UK address (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • have a personal UK current bank account
  • become a member of one of our partner Credit Unions by matching the criteria of the Common Bond of our partner Credit Unions which are:
    • If you are employed, you will be automatically approved and matched to one of our partner Credit Unions based on the industry you work in.
    • If you are not employed (retired, student, unemployed) you can open an account if you are member of an applicable Trade Union or Association (e.g. CO-OP, National Trust).
    • Sharing a household with, and being a relative of, an existing member of the Credit Union.

Seems a bit of a no-brainer?

Band7

TiVo_Lad said:

Bridlington1 said:

My community finance bank easy access account now pays 3.56% on balances over £20K. There are some restrictions with regards to eligibility though:

• To open a savings account, you will need to:

  • be aged 18 or over
  • have a UK address (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • have a personal UK current bank account
  • become a member of one of our partner Credit Unions by matching the criteria of the Common Bond of our partner Credit Unions which are:
    • If you are employed, you will be automatically approved and matched to one of our partner Credit Unions based on the industry you work in.
    • If you are not employed (retired, student, unemployed) you can open an account if you are member of an applicable Trade Union or Association (e.g. CO-OP, National Trust).
    • Sharing a household with, and being a relative of, an existing member of the Credit Union.

Seems a bit of a no-brainer?

There has been previous discussion about them and their rather opaque information regarding FSCS protection. I haven't checked again today because I am quite happy to leave my easy access money at the significantly less opaque, and true instant access, 3.55% CHIP. If you are considering My Community Finance, please make sure you are completely happy about their FSCS protection. Anything that involves credit unions, as this one does, needs extra checks as credit unions fail in high numbers.

TiVo_Lad

The FSCS Protection is with the Credit Union rather than My Community Finance. I've been paired with Castle Community Bank who have full FSCS Protection (Castle Community Bank (FRN:213877)). I'd personally rather my money was doing some good in the community than allowing a FinTech to snoop through my current account.

S_uk

Shawbrook now 3.36% AER.

Band7

TiVo_Lad said:

The FSCS Protection is with the Credit Union rather than My Community Finance. I've been paired with Castle Community Bank who have full FSCS Protection (Castle Community Bank (FRN:213877)). I'd personally rather my money was doing some good in the community than allowing a FinTech to snoop through my current account.

Very off-topic but since you tried to criticise my choice of savings provider with unfounded assumptions: I don't need the help of a credit union to do something good in the community.  

jimexbox

Band7 said:

TiVo_Lad said:

The FSCS Protection is with the Credit Union rather than My Community Finance. I've been paired with Castle Community Bank who have full FSCS Protection (Castle Community Bank (FRN:213877)). I'd personally rather my money was doing some good in the community than allowing a FinTech to snoop through my current account.

Very off-topic but since you tried to criticise my choice of savings provider with unfounded assumptions: I don't need the help of a credit union to do something good in the community.  

£1k to £19,999 interest rate is only 2.50% anyway. I would go fixed bonds for amounts above 20k.