The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

Zopa_Trooper

I think people worry a bit too much. All my apps are fingerprint, voice or face operated so if someone pinches my phone, they'd better cut off my finger (which one?), mimic my accent or be my identical twin.

Seriously, it's a lot of hassle for myself sending money to a new recipient, god knows how a thief is going to handle it.

gt94sss2

Zopa_Trooper said:

I'm wondering whether anybody else will bother challenging Tandem now. The BoE bank raise was 0.25%, anybody exceeding Tandem is going to have to raise their rate by nearly 0.5%. A step too far?

They will. Even if a bank just parks the money at the Bank of England, they would get a 5.25% return

boingy

Zopa_Trooper said:

I think people worry a bit too much. All my apps are fingerprint, voice or face operated so if someone pinches my phone, they'd better cut off my finger (which one?), mimic my accent or be my identical twin.

Seriously, it's a lot of hassle for myself sending money to a new recipient, god knows how a thief is going to handle it.

If you are unlucky, they wave a knife in your face and ask for your cooperation. It's rare but it does happen.

t33

Bridlington1 said:

BestSeagull said:

Stargunner said:

BestSeagull said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

I'm wondering whether anybody else will bother challenging Tandem now. The BoE bank raise was 0.25%, anybody exceeding Tandem is going to have to raise their rate by nearly 0.5%. A step too far?

I think there are going to be a huge amount of people, even those who are rate chasers, who are not comfortable with App only banking. So the field is still wide open for the rest.

Why would people not be comfortable with app only banking. 

I prefer it, as it makes logging in far easier, especially with face recognition.

It must just be me then!

I don't think it's just you. I think a lot of people are sceptical of app based banking for similar reasons to why many were skeptical of online banking when it first came about.

Personally whilst I'm comfortable using an app only bank, I'm still not the biggest fan of app only banking largely because with online banking if my smartphone breaks, I can still log into online banking through my laptop whilst I get a replacement, with app only I'd have to source a new phone before I could access my money. Also if a new version of the app comes out that isn't compatible with my smartphone I will run into issues. I also type much quicker on a laptop than I do on a phone, so I usually find using any sort of webchat much quicker if it is an online webchat rather than an app based webchat, but this is just personal preference really.

I'll still quite happily use an app only bank and have been using the likes of Chip and Tandem for a number of months, but I do still prefer to have the option of online banking as a failsafe option if possible.

This is my thinking and approach too. I have a fair bit of money in banks so caution comes first.  I only have one purely app only account, Starling, and I have that for a specific purpose, no-fee ATM/purchase abroad and it usually only has a few hundred pin money in it.  This suits me right now.  Time will tell how things develop though ...

AndrewSteele888

Does any know the minimum balance for Family BS online Saver (5) struggling to find in on their website?

GalacticaActual

NS&I are increasing the rates on their savings accounts from the 18th August 2023, should you have money deposited with them:


Income Bonds, Direct Saver, Direct ISA, Junior ISA and Investment Account.

• The interest rate paid to Direct Saver customers will increase to 3.65% from 3.40%, whilst the interest rate paid to Income Bonds will increase to 3.59% gross/3.65% AER from 3.40% gross/3.45% AER.
• The rate paid on NS&I’s Direct ISA will increase to 3.00% tax-free from 2.40% tax-free. Young savers will also benefit, with the rate that NS&I pays on its Junior ISA increasing to 4.00% tax-free from 3.65% tax-free.
• Also effective from 18 August, NS&I will be increasing the interest rate that it pays on its Investment Account to 1.00% from 0.85%.

Millions of NS&I customers to benefit from interest rate increases across variable products | NS&I Corporate Site (nsandi-corporate.com)

KevinG

Just opened a Tandem account and transferred money from Chip, the whole process was painless and took 5 minutes.

friolento

I am a reluctant Tandem account holder - not because they are app-only, but - apart from the rate - because they are nothing like Chip. I think I am spoilt by the truly instant nature of Chip deposits and withdrawals. With Tandem, it's still faster than most other savings accounts but you have to wait for up to half an hour for a withdrawal to arrive. So if you need money in your current account for a payment, you can't complete it all in one go, like you can do with Chip. You have to withdraw from Tandem, then come back half an hour later to make your payment.

Deposits into Tandem aren't instant, either.I get a an animated circle for at least a minute, and then it takes another 10-20 minutes before you get confirmation.At Chip, it takes seconds to get confirmation for the deposit.

The other thing I noticed is that Tandem use weird payee information when using OB for deposits. In Santander, the payment shows to "Tandem Santander", in Starling it's "Instant Access Sav". My Chip desposits from Santander show my name and some gobbledegook reference. Not perfect either but more meaningful than Tandem.

The other drawback of Tandem is that my Top Up expires in January. So unless they extend it, I would be back to 4.65% which is most likely not enough to keep me there.

The current good rate at Tandem makes me put up with their drawbacks but I will still keep a small amount in Chip for convenience and emergencies. I do hope Chip will raise their rate before long, though. May be not to 5%, but 4.9% would do for me.

KevinG

flaneurs_lobster said:

housebuyer143 said:

How do I check the rate I am getting at Newcastle on the app? It just links me to the website and a savings pdf from July. I want to ensure the rate has now increased with base rate rise.

Can't see it in the app, it's shown on the website (as 4.3%). NBS have 5 working days from the BoE announcement to apply the rate increase.

Looked really good when I opened it, when it increases to 4.55% it will be decidedly uncompetitive.

BooJewels

I'm not keen on app only banking.  I do use banking apps routinely for daily management, but there are several reasons why I prefer to have the option of web based account management too.  A large one being that I have Reynauds and often have difficulty using touch screens and prefer when setting up a new payee or making transfers, where typing numbers accurately matters, to use a keyboard and mouse than rely on my tricky fingers.  Not to mention that some of the apps have really tiny numbers on some of these sorts of screens.  So for important stuff, I prefer my PC.