Skipton International 1-year fixed rate 4.7% AER...should I go for it?

EltonFan

Hello everyone,

I'm British, but have lived and worked in Japan for many years.

I have maintained an HSBC current account and "online bonus saver" savings account since university. I generally only touch this money when purchasing Christmas/birthday gifts for family in the UK, or when I visit them and need to pay for hotels, food etc. So those savings increase a little every month, and typically receive the higher bonus return rate as I do not make many withdrawals.

I've been looking to move my UK savings into a higher interest earning fixed-rate account, but was ultimately rejected by the institutions I applied to, on the grounds that I am not residing in the UK.

I stumbled upon Skipton International, applied for an account, and it seems that my credentials have been approved. I am attracted to the 1-year fixed rate bond that they offer. This product has remained at 4.5% AER since April, however upon checking the website today, I notice that it has increased to 4.7% - that's a much better rate of return than I would receive with my existing HSBC savings account, which earn 3.5% AER on the first 10k, then 2% on everything above that amount.

I am therefore planning to move the bulk of my UK savings into the Skipton International fixed rate account for a year, leaving a few thousand in my HSBC savings account just in case I need to access it quickly.

Again, I live and work overseas, most of my money is in Japanese banks and investments, so I have little need to use/access my UK savings.

Can anyone provide a reason why I should not pursue the above Skipton International plan?
Are there any better options out there available to UK ex-pats?

Thanks in advance!

Rollinghome

There won't be too many people using this board who are looking for an offshore bank - me included - and even fewer who are Brit ex-pats in Japan.  So you might be better asking on a board such as https://www.expatforum.com/ or https://britishexpats.com/forum/.

At a glance, it looks fine and offering a better rate than anything listed on https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/offshore-savings-accounts/.  But it goes without saying that you'll need to do your own DD regardless of any opinion from someone on the net.

Good luck. Hope someone with some relevant experience will spot your post.

wmb194

"A" reason would be that Skipton International is based in Guernsey so your deposit would be covered by its deposit compensation scheme, £50,000, rather than the UK's FSCS as you are now.

EltonFan

Thanks for the replies!

wmb194 said:

"A" reason would be that Skipton International is based in Guernsey so your deposit would be covered by its deposit compensation scheme, £50,000, rather than the UK's FSCS as you are now.

Ah yes, that's a good point.

I'm not planning to place more than £50,000 into this account.

badger09

I did a lot of research into savings accounts available to non resident Brits when my son was in Hong Kong. Basically, I drew a blank, apart from some NS&I products, which while not the best rates, were reasonably competitive & at least were available to him. 

You’ll need to get around this:
‘New to bank customers must deposit a minimum overall balance of £50k’
I haven’t delved deeper but not sure that as a non resident, you will be able to become a customer by opening another account first. This was the sort of brick wall I kept encountering. 

Good luck and let us know how you get on

Millyonare

Keep an eye on tax.

Premium Bonds can be another option to park UK expat cash.

As above, not investment advice. Dyor, etc.