Charter Savings Bank

rigby44

Hi all, hoping for a little help/peace of mind from anyone who uses the above.

I have been going through the process of opening a cash ISA with them as I am attracted by the monthly interest payout and flexible withdrawals.

I intend to deposit the full £20,000, but I’m a little concerned that the bank seems quite ‘oldy worldy’ in that, they talk a lot about cheques, you actually have to send money from your account to them (As opposed to Chip, for example, where the transaction is made in app) They don’t have an app at all, and I am unable to send a small amount to test that it’s received as the minimum deposit is £5000. Apparently I am unable to send £1 or £10 as the transaction will be rejected.

I’m sure it will all be fine, but there are cleverer people than me who have sent £5000 into the night and simply watched it disappear.

Many thanks

2010

Nothing wrong with Charter, been with them for years.
The money is unlikely to disappear as you can only send it to them and receive money from them via your nominated account.
Why don`t you send a tenner to them and see what happens.
Pretty sure it`ll end up back in your nominated account and not the ether.

"Better "oldy worldy" than "here today, gone tomoorow".
If you don`t like/trust the way they do business, don`t go with them.

Veteransaver

rigby44 said:

Hi all, hoping for a little help/peace of mind from anyone who uses the above.

I have been going through the process of opening a cash ISA with them as I am attracted by the monthly interest payout and flexible withdrawals.

I intend to deposit the full £20,000, but I’m a little concerned that the bank seems quite ‘oldy worldy’ in that, they talk a lot about cheques, you actually have to send money from your account to them (As opposed to Chip, for example, where the transaction is made in app) They don’t have an app at all, and I am unable to send a small amount to test that it’s received as the minimum deposit is £5000. Apparently I am unable to send £1 or £10 as the transaction will be rejected.

I’m sure it will all be fine, but there are cleverer people than me who have sent £5000 into the night and simply watched it disappear.

Many thanks

You can send £1 but it will get rejected, which is kind of proof they got it ok?
Alternatively you could open another instant access account with Charter and transfer the money into that. Then transfer it internally

Albermarle

you actually have to send money from your account to them (As opposed to Chip, for example, where the transaction is made in app) They don’t have an app at all

Other similar smaller savings providers, tend to work in a similar way. There are usually delays on a day or so to add and withdraw money.
Apps cost money to develop and operate and are a nice addon rather than a necessity. Especially as not a lot happens with a savings account from one day to the next !

ladume

Hi- I have a similar questions, did yours go through alright using the sort code they provided in the email?

sparklymarkly

No issues with Charter at all.
 I have several accounts with them and have for over 5 years.
Maybe slightly old fashioned but it all works just fine.
As some else suggested, send a test payment first to ensure it gets there.
 If it’s too small, it gets sent back with an email explaining why (I made that mistake with my first account with them).

rigby44

Just got an email from Charter to advise they are slashing my ISA rate by 0.5% end of the month.

No explanation given. Does anyone know why this might be?

refluxer

rigby44 said:

Just got an email from Charter to advise they are slashing my ISA rate by 0.5% end of the month.

No explanation given. Does anyone know why this might be?

It's an easy access account on a variable rate (presumably), so they're free to do whatever they like with the rate and aren't necessarily required to justify any rate changes to their customers, although some banks often do provide the reasons behind any drops.

Despite the base rate not dropping as quickly as predicted this year, the markets are still anticipating a downward trend and many banks are lowering their easy access and notice account rates in advance as a result.

Aidanmc

Do withdrawals from Charter arrive same day or next working day?

When opening an account do i have to wait for documents in post before being able to transact online.

1spiral

Do they have an app yet? If I google it it says yes but I think the AI is getting confused with Charter bank as opposed to Charter Savings Bank. I can't seem to locate one on play store.

poseidon1

1spiral said:

Do they have an app yet? If I google it it says yes but I think the AI is getting confused with Charter bank as opposed to Charter Savings Bank. I can't seem to locate one on play store.

No app, just Web based login for the time being. This is pretty much my only criticism of Charter Savings Bank.