Paying into NS&I 6.2% Fixed rate bond.

refluxer

Eco_Miser said:

For reference, I logged in, clicked on the 'home' icon top left of menu bar, scrolled down past my existing accounts to 'You may be interested in ...' display of NS&I's other products, clicked the right chevron until the Guaranteed Growth Bond showed, and clicked on it and followed instructions.  Not the most obvious sequence, and the above omits all the false steps along the route that I tried. There's now an easy 'Buy more Bonds' link on my dashboard for future purchases.

Yes - that's exactly how I did it, both for myself and while helping a relative. No issues whatsoever, other than the (expected) transaction checks from the bank(s) which, thankfully, we were able to confirm via the relevant banking app and by text. 

M2BTJ

I too reached the end of the application process to find that payment was by debit card only! Surely the people at NS&I realise that this is wide open to fraud or webpage cloning. UK banks also make it extremely difficult to make large transactions via debit card. Why is there no bank transfer option, with the additional safeguarding checks that goes with it! I'm now having to wait on my new NS&I Direct Saver to open to transfer the cash into that before transferring into a Growth Bond. The whole process is farcical! 

PloughmansLunch

M2BTJ said:

I too reached the end of the application process to find that payment was by debit card only! Surely the people at NS&I realise that this is wide open to fraud or webpage cloning. UK banks also make it extremely difficult to make large transactions via debit card. Why is there no bank transfer option, with the additional safeguarding checks that goes with it! I'm now having to wait on my new NS&I Direct Saver to open to transfer the cash into that before transferring into a Growth Bond. The whole process is farcical! 

It says 'debit card only' but this is incorrect and should really be updated on the NS&I site - from memory clicking this button at the end of the application process will then allow you to transfer from the aforementioned NS&I Direct Saver, which you can fund to your heart's content by bank transfer (as I did) in advance before buying a bond.

refluxer

M2BTJ said:

I too reached the end of the application process to find that payment was by debit card only! Surely the people at NS&I realise that this is wide open to fraud or webpage cloning. UK banks also make it extremely difficult to make large transactions via debit card. Why is there no bank transfer option, with the additional safeguarding checks that goes with it! I'm now having to wait on my new NS&I Direct Saver to open to transfer the cash into that before transferring into a Growth Bond. The whole process is farcical! 

Each to their own of course, but I actually found funding the bonds via debit card easier and more secure than via a bank transfer.

You're able to pay for them there and then without having to visit a different banking app or site (and they appear immediately rather than the usual long wait you get when funding other NS&I accounts with bank transfers), there's no risk of entering the bond account details incorrectly (the worst that can happen if you get your debit card details wrong is that the transaction will obviously fail rather than the money ending up in the wrong account) and, for my bank at least, I was able to approve a large debit card payment in my banking app with a quick 'yes - this is me' answer, which is far preferable than a long wait on the phone to speak to someone in my bank's fraud department when a large faster payments transfer gets held up.

I can appreciate, though, that other peoples' experiences will differ according to the amounts involved and who they bank with.

peter021072

I've just logged in to see if there's any confirmation of the deposits I've made.  It can't get past the 'authenticating your device' page. This was the same device I used this morning which seemed to work then. My computer has updated windows files though.  NS&I definitely need some IT help.

[Deleted User]

From NS&I website, peter021072  "When you invest with NS&I online, you may not see your new savings balance straight away. Don’t worry if this happens – there are sometimes a few things we need to do behind the scenes before we update your balance"

I have done my best but I have given up trying to open this new Bond.  I hope yours works out really well.

refluxer

peter021072 said:

I've just logged in to see if there's any confirmation of the deposits I've made.  It can't get past the 'authenticating your device' page. This was the same device I used this morning which seemed to work then. My computer has updated windows files though.  NS&I definitely need some IT help.

My bonds were visible in my account immediately after I bought them and returned to the home-screen.

I always access the NS&I site via the Chrome Browser on my PC and I've never had the logging-in issues that others have complained about on the forum but I would imagine that doing things like using unusual/unsupported browsers, Incognito/Private Browsing mode, clearing cookies/internet history after every session and possibly even using a VPN might all cause problems with NS&I's device authentication measures.

I did have issues when helping a relative to access their account on a tablet but we had success by switching to a smartphone, which was authenticated with a text message. 

There is a basic NS&I app which would be another way of doing simple tasks like checking your balance - it gets terrible reviews though and you may end up having to go through the same, unpredictable authentication procedure anyway, I guess !

friolento

PloughmansLunch said:

M2BTJ said:

I too reached the end of the application process to find that payment was by debit card only! Surely the people at NS&I realise that this is wide open to fraud or webpage cloning. UK banks also make it extremely difficult to make large transactions via debit card. Why is there no bank transfer option, with the additional safeguarding checks that goes with it! I'm now having to wait on my new NS&I Direct Saver to open to transfer the cash into that before transferring into a Growth Bond. The whole process is farcical! 

It says 'debit card only' but this is incorrect and should really be updated on the NS&I site - from memory clicking this button at the end of the application process will then allow you to transfer from the aforementioned NS&I Direct Saver, which you can fund to your heart's content by bank transfer (as I did) in advance before buying a bond.

I suspect the option to deposit from an NS&I Direct Saver is only offered to people who actually have a Direct Saver account?

From my experience, you are right, once you have a Direct Saver, you can fund it to your heart's content.I tried funding by debit card, faster payment, and pay by bank. The latter is my favourite as it seems to be the fastest / safest. Debit card funding is very slow. Wouldn't use it unless I have a particular reason for using a debit card

tetrarch

Nat West was our problematic institution.

We wanted to move £250,000 and hit their (or Mastercard's) £50K limit.

Bizarrely this is daily per-account limit so we were able to move £100K by payng half out of the Exec account and half from the current account

Regards

Tet 

peter021072

Everything has gone through OK and is showing alongside my index linked saving certificate. If only I'd kept the others!