Paying into an NS&I Direct Saver account

teriyaki

Having done a thorough search yet not having found an explanation, I thought I would post my question here in the hope of someone knowing the answer.

On their website, NS&I state that all deposits into your Direct Saver account 'must be from a UK bank account in your own name'.

If a solicitor has an amount for transfer into an NS&I savings account, does that mean it first has to go from the solicitor to your current account, then from your current account to your NS&I savings account?

Beddie

Yes 

But also, please open a better savings account. Look at the rates on this very website.

refluxer

Why does the money have to be paid into an NS&I savings account ? There are far higher-paying accounts available at the moment and many don't have that restriction.

If it's a substantial sum and FSCS protection beyond £85k is required then it might qualify as a 'temporary high balance', depending on where the money has come from - you can check the list here to see if it would qualify.

teriyaki

It's a substantial amount and doesn't qualify as a temporary high balance, so it's going in to the NS&I account temporarily.  I was hoping to avoid the two-step process, but good to have it confirmed that it is as I thought it was.  Many thanks 

swright3657

11th October 2024 - spoke to NS&I who confirmed that a solicitor can pay into my Direct Saver providing that the source of the funds is from the sale of a house.  This is ideal for me as I don't want the funds sitting in an unprotected account while I manage the moves at the bank limited rate per day.  The only caveat is that a friend had an issue because her solicitor would only pay into an account she had had open for 12 months.  It is not an issue for my solicitor.

km1500

that is useful information thanks

so just to confirm your solicitor pays in using the usual sort code of 083135 and account number of  11914808 with your direct saver account number as the reference and it will go through 

I guess they are using chaps rather than faster payment?

Swipe

You'd have to be pretty brave to allow the proceeds of a house sale to be paid directly into an NS&I direct saver. If something goes wrong I wish you the very best of luck. 

SiliconChip

I think the OP is overthinking this. Rather than have the money paid into a Direct Saver account (with the lower interest and potential access issues as already mentioned) have the solicitor pay it into any account that allows outbound CHAPS payments and distribute the money to the final destinations the same day (not that there's anything other than an infinitesimal risk of a bank going bust in the short time that the balance is above £85K).

km1500

I guess the problem is it is easy to say distribute the money but once you actually try and do it you hit either daily payment limits or in the worst case complete blocking of your account because you are sending it to a new account - yes I'm looking at you Santander and Lloyds

Flugelhorn

I had proceeds paid into my joint account then transferred it at the daily to the NS&I - got an email back each time some was transferred

SiliconChip

km1500 said:

I guess the problem is it is easy to say distribute the money but once you actually try and do it you hit either daily payment limits or in the worst case complete blocking of your account because you are sending it to a new account - yes I'm looking at you Santander and Lloyds

Hence why I said to make the payments using CHAPS, to avoid Faster Payments limits.