Change of nominated Account

thomas100_2

Recently I closed my current account with a bank and moved to Nationwide Building Society using Switch service. I have been able to change my nominated bank account with several savings banks but I cannot do so with Smartsave. I have approached them but their system is all online so cannot help.
Any thoughts on this?

Mark_d

Does your Nationwide account show up on your credit reports yet?  If not then Smartsave's system won't be able to verify your account details.

PRAISETHESUN

thomas100_2 said:

Recently I closed my current account with a bank and moved to Nationwide Building Society using Switch service. I have been able to change my nominated bank account with several savings banks but I cannot do so with Smartsave. I have approached them but their system is all online so cannot help.
Any thoughts on this?

There's sometimes a couple of day lag after opening new accounts before they are recognised by COP/open banking systems, but if you've completed a CASS switch then you should be well beyond that period.

If you've done a CASS switch then any payment made to your old account will be automatically forwarded on to your Nationwide account, and in theory the sender is supposed to also be notified of the new account details so they can update their systems. Is it possible to make a small withdrawal using your existing nominated account (old account details) and see if Smartsave then automatically update it for you? Otherwise their FAQ suggests you might need to open a support ticket for them to manually update it if you are unable to do so yourself.

Middle_of_the_Road

thomas100_2 said:

Recently I closed my current account with a bank and moved to Nationwide Building Society using Switch service. I have been able to change my nominated bank account with several savings banks but I cannot do so with Smartsave. I have approached them but their system is all online so cannot help.
Any thoughts on this?

Any payments from Smartsave made to the closed nominated account will automatically be redirected to your Nationwide account for three years.

https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/help-support/#:~:text=What happens to payments that,they can update their records.

premierfella

They sensibly extended the 3 years to "indefinitely" last year (presumably some people were still put off switching by them having a cut-off previously).

eskbanker

premierfella said:

They sensibly extended the 3 years to "indefinitely" last year (presumably some people were still put off switching by them having a cut-off previously).

At the risk of being pedantic, it continues after three years until there's a 13 month period during which there are no redirections, so not completely open-ended.

eskbanker

thomas100_2 said:

Recently I closed my current account with a bank and moved to Nationwide Building Society using Switch service. I have been able to change my nominated bank account with several savings banks but I cannot do so with Smartsave. I have approached them but their system is all online so cannot help.
Any thoughts on this?

What's actually preventing you from changing the account with Smartsave - is it an issue with verification?

If you change banks before your SmartSave fixed-term saver matures, you can update these details with us by logging into your account and clicking Account. 

Your new bank details will still need to be:

• In your name
• A current account, not a savings account
• Able to accept faster payments
• From a UK bank or building society

So that we can verify your new bank details before the end of your fixed term, we recommend that you check the bank details we have saved for you and make any changes as soon as possible.

If we're unable to verify your new bank details online, we'll continue to hold the details of your existing nominated current account.

It's important that we can verify your new bank details. If we can't, we won't be able to change the account we return your savings balance to.

https://smartsavebank.co.uk/faqs/?category=funding-your-savings-account

thomas100_2

Thank you all - apart from Smartsave - for you suggestions.
As far as Smartsave is concerned, I have tried umpteen times and all has failed to do so. My new current account is with Nationwide Building Society, is in my name and is able to receive faster payments.
I have a feeling the bug is in the Smartsave system as I have been able to change nominated account with the current one with other banks where I also hold savings deposits.