Savings and moving money around 17 November 2022 at 2:03PM edited 17 November 2022 at 3:40PM in Savings & investments 4 replies 309 views

298j

Hello dear Expert! 

With so many easy access online savings accounts that they constantly change their ratings, it sounds a good idea to move our money around in order to achieve the maximum interest rate.

Eg current account might be giving 2.1% while another one gives you 2.55% 

The question is:

Can you move around your money every now and then?
Is there any case that a bank or an institution might consider this as "criminal" activity and block you from your money?

I mean you have savings in Account A. 
Account b increases the rate. You move your savings to B.
Next month though Account C increases more. You move to C.
Then A, missing on competition, increases again. 

What is the deal with that?

I am asking because I have read many cases where banks decided to "freeze" accounts with no apparent reason.


Thanks 

jimjames

I've never had any problems doing that. If you have other activity going on that arises suspicion you may have issues

frugalmacdugal

Hi,

for the sake of say, £20 a year it's not worth the hassle, but if you have 3 or 4 accounts maxed to the 85K, then you would need to use a ladder system, bottom rate moves to new highest rate.

refluxer

@298j This is a repeat of the thread here - why did you post twice ?

EssexHebridean

In the course of the last year I've fairly regularly moved chunks of money between at least 5 different financial institutions that I can think of. IIRC the largest sum at any one time being a little under 40k - so small fry to some on here, but still enough to make me feel slightly nervy until I see that it's all arrived where it should have!  Mostly it's involved moving it to and from a "nominated account" - and many people suggest that seems to raise less risk of fraud checks etc than not using that method - indeed, some providers now demand that a nominated account is used both for funding and for withdrawals. 

Banks pretty much never "decide to freeze accounts with no apparent reason" although if you're not familiar with money laundering regs, it can sometimes seem that way. Ultimately though - ask yourself what is better - a transaction being stopped because there MIGHT be something dodgy going on, or a transaction NOT being stopped even thoughthere might be something didgy going on, and you losing perhaps many thousands of pounds as a result. I know where my vote would go!