The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

Bigwheels1111

They must be doing the rate update in batches.

Mine has just gone to 5%.

pecunianonolet

Did we not have the same discussion who prefers app only, online only, a combination of both, etc. only a few weeks back which turned into a 10-20 page Chip discussion after?

Concerned about your phone getting lost or stolen? Get a cheap second hand phone and keep at home only. Make sure you not get burgled either.

Online customer? Is your computer, laptop, tablet, or even phone, free of any malware, spyware, viruses, keylogger, tracking cookies, etc? Are you using a specific browser for banking login only and always delete all cached data, cookies?

Two factor authentication and biometrics enabled wherever possible? 

Are you using for any account a different password, memorable words, phrases, pins, etc. which are totally random, without any connection or traceability to you? For those with many accounts of 20+, can you remember them all or do you write it down somewhere?

Phones and laptops can be encrypted, e.g. Bitlocker. On Android you can install banking apps into a secure folder and have it locked on top of the normal phone login and the apps in this folder are not easily visible as being installed.

Remote location tracking enabled so in case phone is lost or stolen you have a chance to track current or last location and lock remotely or even wipe it?

While we're on it, please disable contactless on each and every card you use. As it is near field technology, all I need is a small card machine and walk around in a busy environment, e.g. bus, train, tram, city centre and I just need to hold the machine near enough to your wallet / pocket to get cash transferred. 

Don't see this as criticism, as we have to look carefully after our funds and it is good to have a discussion about it but perhaps a separate "How to secure my digital banking access best" thread might be a better place instead of having the same debate over and over again. 

P.S. I myself could be much more creative with my passwords, pins, etc. and I know that I could reduce this risk further but for me it's a calculated risk and I am aware of it.

Thanks for your understanding!

Bridlington1

Not a great rate but for those who have it Buckinghamshire Single Access Saver will rise to 4.55% from 1/9/23.

friolento

Bigwheels1111 said:

lcooper said:

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.

My top up runs until April 24, as new top up was released in April 23.

Another top up should be released at some point and if you have auto top up switched on it will extend your rate by a year again.

Where do I find auto top up?

MatthiasSchilf

My wife tried to open a Tandem EA account yesterday at about 5pm and the ID checks are STILL pending. Anyone else having this problem? I assume it is because they have been deluged by applications as she has never had this problem with any other savings account application (usually instant).

PixelPound

razord said:

Just a note for those who get a little scared like I did last night moving to Tandem:

Starling held the payment for the additional security questions, which is fine (and right) - but, the tandem app timed it out because of the additional time that answering those questions took. So, after I answered the questions and starling then actioned the transactions, going back to Tandem said "Your transfer failed" (or similar)

You can safely ignore that, and the deposit will still arrive within 20 minutes or so!

I've had similar with chip where it says failed due to poor network or similar when transferring out. Still goes through and I learnt if you try again you end up twice going out. Luckily it was only an amount to cover an unexpected bill. So easily deposited back. 

UVRay

The worry I have with the Tandem/Chip apps is that they seem to have no security other than the possession of the SIM of the mobile number associated with the account. So all this discussion about phone security is irrelevant if a thief can simply put the SIM in a new phone and get access to your accounts using freshly installed apps on that phone?

The app for my main bank account is locked to the phone & would require access to that phone (or a call to customer services) to move it. However Tandem & Chip don't seem to have this security (or am I wrong about this)?

Maybe they have added security around setting up a new linked account to transfer your money out to, but this isn't obvious with the ease with which I set up my linked account (only security was on the other end within the linked account app).

SAC2334

cwep2 said:

Hope this ain’t too off topic, but thought it may be happening to others reading this thread this morning…
Taking money out of Chip to put into Tandem - they didn’t transfer the whole amount.

I withdrew a round amount, but when I checked my current account some lower odd amount was credited to my current account. In the Chip app it shows two withdrawals: a standard withdrawal (most of the funds, odd amount) and then a “Bonus Withdrawal” of the rest (£95.66) which is still processing hours later and hasn’t been credited to my account yet. The total of the two adds up to the amount I was trying to withdraw but Chip has split it into two payments, one of which is far from instant. 

For all the people saying Chip transfers are instant, it’s several hours later and I’m still almost £100 short with a withdrawal still “processing”. 

Has anyone else who has withdrawn money from Chip seen this?

All mine have been more or less instant .Did mine in £10k chunks  .Withdrawels all went back into my bank with the same speed 

MichaelAP

MatthiasSchilf said:

My wife tried to open a Tandem EA account yesterday at about 5pm and the ID checks are STILL pending. Anyone else having this problem? I assume it is because they have been deluged by applications as she has never had this problem with any other savings account application (usually instant).

I opened mine just over an hour ago, linking NatWest. Took maybe 10 minutes. Transfer of opening £1000 took about 40 minutes though (using Open Banking).

One other point whilst I am here.
Having now an opening amount showing, the app does not show a running balance like you find in other savings apps.
I take it as I add further amounts it will show these separately instead of the single balance which I am seeing at the moment?

flaneurs_lobster

UVRay said:

The worry I have with the Tandem/Chip apps is that they seem to have no security other than the possession of the SIM of the mobile number associated with the account. So all this discussion about phone security is irrelevant if a thief can simply put the SIM in a new phone and get access to your accounts using freshly installed apps on that phone?

The app for my main bank account is locked to the phone & would require access to that phone (or a call to customer services) to move it. However Tandem & Chip don't seem to have this security (or am I wrong about this)?

Maybe they have added security around setting up a new linked account to transfer your money out to, but this isn't obvious with the ease with which I set up my linked account (only security was on the other end within the linked account app).

Lock the SIM with a PIN code.