RAISIN

totalnut

WATCH OUT - I invested in 1 Year Fixed Term deposit through Raisin - transferred £20,000 for 4 consecutive days and further £5,000 on 5th day but they didn't pass on funds to ultimate receiving bank until full £85k was received and even then they passed it on day or 2 later.  As there was a weekend intervening, it took about 9 days for fund to be invested and start earning interest.   My deposit matured yesterday but it won't be available to withdraw or to re-invest for 3 more business days, i.e. another 5 caldndar days.  All in all about 2 weeks' loss of interest.  This practice is not clearly laid out and I consider it to be malpractice.

friolento

It's a while since I used Raisin but I remember that their terms describe clearly that they don't transfer funds to the receiving bank until the full amount pledged has been deposited. They also make it clear that it can take a few days before your matured funds can be withdrawn.

If you want no / fewer delays in depositing or withdrawing money in savings accounts, you should cut out the middleman (Raisin in this case). You are likely to get better interest rates doing so.

As an aside, if you deposit £85k into a savings account in a sole name, none of the interest you earn will be FSCS protected

Ayr_Rage

If you said you were intending to invest £85,000 I can see why they did not bank it until fully funded.

You may think it as malpractice but have you actually read their Ts and Cs to find out whether they have broken any of their own rules?

Bigwheels1111

85k are you Mad.

Their T&C'S are clear.

I have had 7 savings accounts with them and not had any big issues.

In fact they got better last year, payout took 1 day not 3.

Due 14th Feb, paid into my bank 14th Feb.

flaneurs_lobster

friolento said:

If you want no / fewer delays in depositing or withdrawing money in savings accounts, you should cut out the middleman (Raisin in this case). You are likely to get better interest rates doing so.

Agree on the delays when using Raisin, having got used to shooting cash around with Faster Payments (often moved in seconds) it can be a bit of a shock to find delays like those described.

But the point about better rates, isn't a major reason for enduring Raisin's tardiness that market-leading rates are often only available via their platform?

friolento

flaneurs_lobster said:

friolento said:

If you want no / fewer delays in depositing or withdrawing money in savings accounts, you should cut out the middleman (Raisin in this case). You are likely to get better interest rates doing so.

Agree on the delays when using Raisin, having got used to shooting cash around with Faster Payments (often moved in seconds) it can be a bit of a shock to find delays like those described.

But the point about better rates, isn't a major reason for enduring Raisin's tardiness that market-leading rates are often only available via their platform?

In my experience, over several years, rates available via Raisin are very, very rarely market leading.When there is an additional bonus, for example for new Raisin customers, it might be worth it. Though any bonus I have seen is not much more than the loss of interest at the front- and back end of the savings period.

I think people who use Raisin or similar platforms prioritise easier admin over the best rates.

slinger2

Agree with the above. I gave it a go but it all seemed overly complicated without any clear benefit. Abandoned it pretty quickly.

Sea_Shell

I use them and have been very happy, on the whole.

Not the best best rates available, but I do like the all in one place admin, and is better now the platform account supports faster payments.

redpete

It's really not malpractice, just a laggy process.

macazon

A while ago Raisin changed there clearing bank and they are now quicker with transfers than they used to be. Transfers seem to show up the same day now.
I have just recently set up a Raisin Paragon easy access account (NLA) with the proceeds from my Santander easy access account. I transferred the money out from Santander on the 20th then on to Raisin and it arrived the same day. The Paragon account was up and running on the 21st, I can't really complain at that,. I just hope Paragon don't drop the 5% rate for a while.
It is true that you lose a bit of interest if you make the transfer over multiple days when setting up an account. I always transfer the money to my daily limit to try and minimise the funding time. I guess you could also do a BACS/CHAPS transfer to speed things up a bit but then you would have a transfer fee to pay.
Raisin does not always have the highest rates but sometimes it is the best choice for me because I find frequently that I already have close to the £85 with the bank paying the higher rate.

Bigwheels1111

macazon said:

A while ago Raisin changed there clearing bank and they are now quicker with transfers than they used to be. Transfers seem to show up the same day now.
I have just recently set up a Raisin Paragon easy access account (NLA) with the proceeds from my Santander easy access account. I transferred the money out from Santander on the 20th then on to Raisin and it arrived the same day. The Paragon account was up and running on the 21st, I can't really complain at that,. I just hope Paragon don't drop the 5% rate for a while.
It is true that you lose a bit of interest if you make the transfer over multiple days when setting up an account. I always transfer the money to my daily limit to try and minimise the funding time. I guess you could also do a BACS/CHAPS transfer to speed things up a bit but then you would have a transfer fee to pay.
Raisin does not always have the highest rates but sometimes it is the best choice for me because I find frequently that I already have close to the £85 with the bank paying the higher rate.

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