MSE News: Coventry BS launches market-leading ISA to rival top easy-access savings accounts

colsten

Those who can't wait a few days to get their online access all set up are free to choose a different provider. :cool: Note the current tax year doesn't end for another fortnight, so you still have plenty of time to make a 2018-19 deposit. If your money is burning a really bad hole in your pocket at this precise moment, you can deposit it into an existing instant access ISA and then ask Coventry to transfer it at a later stage.

Those who are existing Coventry BS account holders, like myself, will be pretty pleased with the smoothness of adding the 1.5% ISA to their accounts. It literally took a couple of minutes for the ISA to show in the list of accounts :cool:

glider3560

colsten wrote: »

Those who can't wait a few days to get their online access all set up are free to choose a different provider. :cool:

My main quibble is just how convoluted the process was. It took 13 days to get online access, only to be presented with my "last login" date of last year and the picture I chose for my old login details, which I could've just logged into without sending me 12 letters in the post (received numbers 11 and 12 today).

dosh37

I've now opened a Paragon ISA account as a new customer.
It took just minutes. I have immediate online access to my new account. Username, password, security details etc. were all set up straight away. No waiting days for letters to arrive through the post.


If Paragon (and just about every other savings organisation I've used) can do it, then I can't see why The Coventry still uses such a painfully slow and cumbersome new customer registration process.

retiree

Looks like the Coventry 1.5% ISA has now been pulled.

etienneg

dosh37 wrote: »

I've now opened a Paragon ISA account as a new customer.
It took just minutes. I have immediate online access to my new account. Username, password, security details etc. were all set up straight away. No waiting days for letters to arrive through the post.


If Paragon (and just about every other savings organisation I've used) can do it, then I can't see why The Coventry still uses such a painfully slow and cumbersome new customer registration process.

Coventry do seem to send out a ridiculous amount of paper for new customers. By contract, opening accounts such as you describe above can be spectacularly simple. Isn't there a conflict, though, between simplicity and security?

Without asking you to divulge any personal details (obviously), could I ask you to go through what personal information you had to provide and say which piece(s) would be difficult for someone else (maybe someone who knows you) to have given? Then put yourself into such a person's position and ask how difficult it would be for him to open an account in your name without you knowing?

If you set up username, password and security details all online, the person setting up the account is the one who has access to it. Immediate access, you say. Absolutely perfect for money-laundering?

I'm just wondering if we are driving wonderfully fast towards disaster, if account opening is this easy. I hope I'm wrong!

Frogletina

retiree wrote: »

Looks like the Coventry 1.5% ISA has now been pulled.

I've found an email in my junk folder just now from the Coventry

You recently opened an Easy Access ISA (Online); this is a limited issue account which closed to new investors on 19 March 2019


However, the Coventry are showing the following Isa on their website

Easy Access ISA (9) 1.15 %

Our competitive flexible cash ISA - with easy access and tax-free interest.

Competitive! I don't think so

frogletina

sausage_time

How long before they cut the rate I wonder?

Uxb1

dosh37 wrote: »

I've now opened a Paragon ISA account as a new customer.
It took just minutes. I have immediate online access to my new account. Username, password, security details etc. were all set up straight away. No waiting days for letters to arrive through the post.

Paragon you have to use the nominated account from which to send funds
(just like Marcus)
So funds can only come from this source and they will know exactly what is the source when you put your bank details in

With Coventry you can send it in from any account
So who knows what dodgy account might be used and the scope for money laundering/muling/fraud is obviously more therefore with the Coventry type of account operation than with Paragon's system.

Hence why Coventry and others needs to take more care over establishing the applicants credentials than those others mentioned above who can open the account there and then as the risk is lower.

dosh37

Today The Coventry admitted there is an on-going IT problem with customer registration for Online Services. It's affecting a number of new customers. They were unable to give any estimate of how long it will take to fix.

glider3560

Now up to 14 letters to open the account, get logged in and transfer two ISAs. One transfer is still in process, so I'm expecting at least another letter.

I wouldn't want to imagine their postage bill for this month.