The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

sturgeon

I asked chip before I withdraw and move to Tandem. Reply was:

“With the Bank of England base rate going up constantly, we're starting to see savings rates continue to climb across the market. However, banks can take a little while to pass on this increase to customers as it depends on their circumstances. (e.g. if they need to raise additional capital for lending)

With this in mind, Chip is always working to bring you the best rates available, and the flexibility of our platform means we can partner with different banks, and pick the ones that offer us the best terms. Our aim is to get more banks on our platform and make Chip an easy choice for banks to attract customer deposits, this will in turn lead to improved interest rates for you.

We’re confident that there are going to be more market-leading rates on the table for our savers but we are also fully aware that no savings rate right now is going to get close to inflation, so we'll also be growing our new products in the form of more investment funds, crypto and alternative assets which we'll be announcing more about soon.

Whenever we decide to increase our interest rates, we will promptly notify our users via email and through the app once the changes have been implemented”

Could mean nothing but equally could suggest they need additional funding and cannot increase rates further or certainly can’t be market leading anymore. I’m far from an expert so don’t fully understand, just passing on the info. 

Zaul22

It sounds like a load of waffle that could have a few subtle hints about future plans hidden in it. Chips problem is the IA account is the only thing making them a profit, so they have to keep it competitive. On the other hand the fact that their investment platform is unprofitable does need to be solved at some point, rather than just ignoring it and focusing on the IA. 

It would make sense for them to start doing notice accounts and fixes at some point, but they seem to want to do it by providing 3rd party accounts like the Oaknorth one instead of doing it themselves. 

Bazzalona13295

Here's a question, what exactly is the point of a bonus being incorporated into a percentage rate?
Are the banks simply hoping some don't click on to the bonus and get a lower rate?

Eirambler

Bazzalona13295 said:

Here's a question, what exactly is the point of a bonus being incorporated into a percentage rate?
Are the banks simply hoping some don't click on to the bonus and get a lower rate?

That and probably a bit of marketing spin as well. You'd be surprised how many people see things like a "bonus rate" and think that some account or product must be better because it includes a "bonus".

Bazzalona13295

Eirambler said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Here's a question, what exactly is the point of a bonus being incorporated into a percentage rate?
Are the banks simply hoping some don't click on to the bonus and get a lower rate?

That and probably a bit of marketing spin as well. You'd be surprised how many people see things like a "bonus rate" and think that some account or product must be better because it includes a "bonus".

Must be the case, what made me wonder more than anything is the Tandem 5%.
I've never seen an offer where you need to click to get the bonus, imagine how many might not do that.

crumpet_man

Bazzalona13295 said:

Eirambler said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Here's a question, what exactly is the point of a bonus being incorporated into a percentage rate?
Are the banks simply hoping some don't click on to the bonus and get a lower rate?

That and probably a bit of marketing spin as well. You'd be surprised how many people see things like a "bonus rate" and think that some account or product must be better because it includes a "bonus".

Must be the case, what made me wonder more than anything is the Tandem 5%.
I've never seen an offer where you need to click to get the bonus, imagine how many might not do that.

Marcus have done the same thing with the opt in for bonus rate.

InvesterJones

crumpet_man said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Eirambler said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Here's a question, what exactly is the point of a bonus being incorporated into a percentage rate?
Are the banks simply hoping some don't click on to the bonus and get a lower rate?

That and probably a bit of marketing spin as well. You'd be surprised how many people see things like a "bonus rate" and think that some account or product must be better because it includes a "bonus".

Must be the case, what made me wonder more than anything is the Tandem 5%.
I've never seen an offer where you need to click to get the bonus, imagine how many might not do that.

Marcus have done the same thing with the opt in for bonus rate.

When you apply to Marcus the bonus rate automatically applies though, it's only opt in after it expires.

TiVo_Lad

sturgeon said:

I asked chip before I withdraw and move to Tandem. Reply was:

“With the Bank of England base rate going up constantly, we're starting to see savings rates continue to climb across the market. However, banks can take a little while to pass on this increase to customers as it depends on their circumstances. (e.g. if they need to raise additional capital for lending)

With this in mind, Chip is always working to bring you the best rates available, and the flexibility of our platform means we can partner with different banks, and pick the ones that offer us the best terms. Our aim is to get more banks on our platform and make Chip an easy choice for banks to attract customer deposits, this will in turn lead to improved interest rates for you.

We’re confident that there are going to be more market-leading rates on the table for our savers but we are also fully aware that no savings rate right now is going to get close to inflation, so we'll also be growing our new products in the form of more investment funds, crypto and alternative assets which we'll be announcing more about soon.

Whenever we decide to increase our interest rates, we will promptly notify our users via email and through the app once the changes have been implemented”

I read this as:

1. Clearbank won't budge on their margin so we can't raise rates without eating into our own margin which is already paper thin. No one else seems to be offering anything better.
   
2. We do have other plans which are taking longer to bring to market than we thought which means we're reliant on our savings margin through Clearbank for the time being.
3. We're talking to our investors and others to see if they can bridge the gap.
4. Please sit tight.

IMHO we won't see market-leading rates from CHIP again until 1, 2 or 3 change.

Freedommm

crumpet_man said:

Barkin said:

Eirambler said:

If the Post Office banking services are still being operated by Bank of Ireland that alone would be enough to convince me to steer clear. BoI are a dreadful banking institution in general.

Which is exactly the kind of comment that prompted the previous question.

A scathing "they're carp", without saying why... 

"IT" issues
Problems withdrawing and depositing funds (direct debits would stop working)
Account getting locked for no apparent reason
Customer service say it's fixed, try again in 15 minutes but it's not fixed and have to call again

That's exactly all the problems I had with them too. Additionally, extreme difficulty or impossibility to get a end of tax year interest summary. Oh, once you close the account OR migrate to their new account, you simply cannot access any of your statements at all.

sturgeon

Sorry to ask but it’s an enormous thread, what’s the deal with Tandem if your phone is lost or stolen? And can only a bank account with your name be linked to then withdraw? Moving everything over from Chip so wanted to know the score.