NS&I Income Bonds - Available Balance

wizdoc

Hello
I bought approximately £80k worth of NS&I income bonds on Monday, 20th April, by debit card. However, the funds are currently not counted in the "available" figure in my NS&I account, some four days later. The funds have left my bank account and appear in the "balance" on NS&I - just not as being "available", if that makes sense. I was wondering if anyone knows how long it usually takes for funds to clear and be counted in the "available" balance? I also wonder whether the bonds are earning interest in the meantime?

IanManc

wizdoc said:

Hello
I bought approximately £80k worth of NS&I income bonds on Monday, 20th April, by debit card. However, the funds are currently not counted in the "available" figure in my NS&I account, some four days later. The funds have left my bank account and appear in the "balance" on NS&I - just not as being "available", if that makes sense. I was wondering if anyone knows how long it usually takes for funds to clear and be counted in the "available" balance? I also wonder whether the bonds are earning interest in the meantime?

Your bonds are earning interest from as soon as the total balance is increased by your debit card payment.

Debit card payments then clear after a week, and after that you can withdraw the money.

However, if you pay in by bank transfer before 6.30pm on a business day then the payment clears and is added to your available balance during the next business day.

When your £80k debit card payment has cleared then your available balance will show as £79500, which is the amount you paid in less the £500 you need to leave in to keep the account open, but you can take out the whole £80k if you close the account.

Hope this helps.  😊

wizdoc

Thanks for your reply - that's very helpful. 

wizdoc

Further to the above, I made a further 'deposit' by debit card a few days ago. However, strangely this is now showing in a separate box under "Transaction History" entitled "Pending Transactions". I did not see that box appear at all when I made the earlier deposits. Furthermore, the amount I deposited is showing with a negative sign in front of it!!?? I wonder if NS&I have changed the way they show pending transactions recently, i.e. between the two sets of deposits I made. The additional amount I deposited is also not showing in the balance. I've tried to illustrate what I mean with the attached screenshot - notice the red minus sign.

niro_111

i think you will find that all of the money you put in, will show in your account on the 5th of the month

Fat_Turtle

Wizdoc - I have just opened an account earlier this week and have the same issue. Did this clear for you in the end? Any chance you remember how long it took?

colsten

I think we have been transported back to 1960s banking, with an Internet interface bolted on.

I might be wrong, it might be 1950s.

But the interest rate for instant(ish) access is 1.16% AER, so we should embrace it, not complain about it.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

here's a similar thread, have a read here.

wizdoc

Fat_Turtle said:

Wizdoc - I have just opened an account earlier this week and have the same issue. Did this clear for you in the end? Any chance you remember how long it took?

Hi
It did eventually clear after almost two weeks. I've since run into the issue again. I made a further deposit on 24 May and it's still pending.