T212 vs Plum

refluxer

Ponchos said:

It seems to me that Trading212 might be the best option as it is flexible and the interest is paid daily so will surely be compounded throughout the year so you would end up with more money than if interest was paid annually like with most other ISAs (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Just for info - whether cash ISA interest is paid monthly or annually depends on the provider, but both options are common. You can check by doing a 'full search' on the Moneyfactscompare site and filtering for each option.

While monthly is likely to be more common for easy access cash ISAs, there are some providers who do pay it annually for that type of account. I don't currently hold any easy access cash ISAs but for the fixed rate cash ISAs I hold, it's not far off a 50/50 split between annual and monthly interest payments.

masonic

Ponchos said:

It seems to me that Trading212 might be the best option as it is flexible and the interest is paid daily so will surely be compounded throughout the year so you would end up with more money than if interest was paid annually like with most other ISAs (please correct me if I'm wrong).

You should be comparing AER rates, which include the effects of compounding. For the same AER, annual can be better if you hold for less than a year or your balance is much higher for the latter part of the year.

iambenten

beefturnmail said:

I'm not happy with the security of Trading 212's internet banking system - often when I try to login I have to go through a rigmarole of having my identity reverified via video and passport.  Then they sent me a email today regarding an ISA transfer - it has a link in the e-mail to check on my transfer - when I click on this I get logged straight in to my full account, no questions asked.  Also if you close the browser it doesn't automatically log out.  Don't like Plum for the reasons above.  Considering Moneybox, but downside of them is interest (paid annually) is not covered by FSCS

I can't say I am happy with their security either, especially when compared to banks.

As others have pointed out, transfer from T212 to Plum will be at a loss due to much lower transfer rate. Moneybox does look the best for now but T212 have a reputation for quick changes so they may put it back up to be competitive.

And flexible means with the same provide - do not withdraw it to put it elsewhere as the ISA status will be lost. This could be a huge mistake if for example you had saved £20K for 10 years = £200K in ISA.

dont_use_vistaprint

beefturnmail said:

I'm not happy with the security of Trading 212's internet banking system - often when I try to login I have to go through a rigmarole of having my identity reverified via video and passport.  Then they sent me a email today regarding an ISA transfer - it has a link in the e-mail to check on my transfer - when I click on this I get logged straight in to my full account, no questions asked.  Also if you close the browser it doesn't automatically log out.  Don't like Plum for the reasons above.  Considering Moneybox, but downside of them is interest (paid annually) is not covered by FSCS

I’ve not had any of those problems with T212 But I am using the app, not the website.  It does support the usual Face ID, PIN & MFA options, but by default, they were all switched off which is bad practice, but simple enough to resolve. This worries me far less than some of the things I have seen in other finance systems and websites from high street names.

Other than an initial slowish cash ISA transfer. I have no complaints with T212. & will stay as long as it’s competitive.

dont_use_vistaprint

masonic said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

refluxer said:

You'd need to do an ISA transfer from T212 to Plum and Plum don't pay the interest bonus for transferred funds, which would obviously make such a move undesirable.

This, coupled with the fact that the ISA has to remain open for a full 12 months in order to receive the bonus, means you're effectively tied to them for a year. You'd struggle to find a less desirable easy access ISA account then Plum's, that's for sure !

Yeah I’ve misunderstood the flexible ISA limitation & need to do a transfer of current years deposits , I knew about the other stuff with Plum, and with T212 dropping to 4.99 &  potentially further, I thought it might be worth it in spite of the limitations, clearly it isn’t.

The rules used to be different, but were tightened up this tax year.

You don’t happen to have a link to an HMRC source on this?

I’ve been told the opposite by a tax advisor at my previous company and at the link below HMRC flatly refused to answer this question

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/pt/5b6f3634-61f4-ee11-a81c-6045bd0d629d

Im wondering why they would care and what’s the rationale? , it’s a procedure rather than a policy matter, a withdrawal and a deposit versus a transfer, The end result is the same when it comes to keeping within the limits for tax purposes

dont_use_vistaprint

Ponchos said:

beefturnmail said:

I'm not happy with the security of Trading 212's internet banking system - often when I try to login I have to go through a rigmarole of having my identity reverified via video and passport.  Then they sent me a email today regarding an ISA transfer - it has a link in the e-mail to check on my transfer - when I click on this I get logged straight in to my full account, no questions asked.  Also if you close the browser it doesn't automatically log out.  Don't like Plum for the reasons above.  Considering Moneybox, but downside of them is interest (paid annually) is not covered by FSCS

Been looking at this thread as I'm wondering where to put money for an ISA (didn't know about Plum problems so I'll go searching in a momet), but for anyone considering Moneybox, I have a Simple Saver with them which is used just for a Direct Debit on bank switches, but works well and the app is good HOWEVER the app is telling me that Cash ISA interest is dropping from 5.17% to 4.92% on 17th December 2024, which "includes an introductory bonus rate of 0.47% for the first 12 months".

It seems to me that Trading212 might be the best option as it is flexible and the interest is paid daily so will surely be compounded throughout the year so you would end up with more money than if interest was paid annually like with most other ISAs (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The daily interest feature is a very nice, but remember all accounts rates are comparable by looking at the AER, this takes into account frequency and compounding of interest, assuming you leave the money in the account and do not draw income from it.

My thoughts after reading the replies and researching around is that T212 is still the best place for my Cash ISA.

masonic

dont_use_vistaprint said:

masonic said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

refluxer said:

You'd need to do an ISA transfer from T212 to Plum and Plum don't pay the interest bonus for transferred funds, which would obviously make such a move undesirable.

This, coupled with the fact that the ISA has to remain open for a full 12 months in order to receive the bonus, means you're effectively tied to them for a year. You'd struggle to find a less desirable easy access ISA account then Plum's, that's for sure !

Yeah I’ve misunderstood the flexible ISA limitation & need to do a transfer of current years deposits , I knew about the other stuff with Plum, and with T212 dropping to 4.99 &  potentially further, I thought it might be worth it in spite of the limitations, clearly it isn’t.

The rules used to be different, but were tightened up this tax year.

You don’t happen to have a link to an HMRC source on this?

I’ve been told the opposite by a tax advisor at my previous company and at the link below HMRC flatly refused to answer this question

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/pt/5b6f3634-61f4-ee11-a81c-6045bd0d629d

Im wondering why they would care and what’s the rationale? , it’s a procedure rather than a policy matter, a withdrawal and a deposit versus a transfer, The end result is the same when it comes to keeping within the limits for tax purposes

It's an anti-abuse measure passed by parliament to prevent people subscribing >£20k across multiple flexible ISAs, then flexibly withdrawing down to £20k at the end of the tax year to avoid detection.

Providers only provide HMRC with one balance for flexible ISAs, namely that at the end of the tax year. Now the intention is they will provide the maximum over the tax year, but we do not yet know if this will be implemented in time for this tax year.

See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-isa-subscriptions-for-your-investors#flexible-isas or many other threads where this has been discussed in the ISAs sub forum. The HMRC forums are about this useful for most queries, see the ones about tax arising in multi-year fixed accounts for a real treat!

You can also refer to the ISA legislation passed this year, amending regulation 5DDB: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1870/regulation/5DDB

It is a matter of law, not procedural.