Buying premium bonds for an adult

david_goodwin

NS&I have just bounced my application to buy premium bonds for someone as a gift. I thought they might, but it seems odd that I can instantly transfer money to their bank account but can't buy them this savings product. I wanted it to be a surprise gift. Does anyone know why this is?

El_Torro

I don't know why this is the case but it might be to make it easier to track who has how many Premium Bonds. Since you are only allowed a maximum of £50k Premium Bonds in your own name this might make it easier for NS&I to enforce the rule.

lr1277

This is a guess. Could be because of anti-money laundering (AML) rules? I don't know how NS&I implement AML rules but NS&I may want to know that the owner of the bonds obtained the funds to pay for the bonds legitimately?

Edited to add: when buying premium bonds for a child where you are not the parent or the guardian, NS&I will contact the parent/guardian for identity checks etc.

So not sure if my reasoning is correct and if my reasoning is correct why it would be different for adults and children.

poppystar

AIUI premium bonds can only be bought as gifts for children not adults. 

IanManc

david_goodwin said:

NS&I have just bounced my application to buy premium bonds for someone as a gift. I thought they might, but it seems odd that I can instantly transfer money to their bank account but can't buy them this savings product. I wanted it to be a surprise gift. Does anyone know why this is?

NS&I are being perfectly reasonable. No other institution would allow you to open a savings account in another adult's name without power of attorney either.