Tembo - are they any good

SFCooper

Blackbriar_040 said:

Switched my Cash Lisa from Moneybox to Tembo last year, have just initiated another 2 ISA switches from Trading212 and another Moneybox ISA to them.

The app has had a refresh and is fairly intuitive to use, never had any issues with transferring funds or any usability problems.
Communication wise, they have been fairly responsive! I would say quicker than Moneybox, in my experience.

If your a 1st time buyer, they offer support in buying your first property, and have a online community, which you can join and ask experts any questions.

Overall am fairly happy with Tembo!

 

Started my Cash ISA switch from Trading 212 last night. How long do you imagine the transfer to take?

friolento

SFCooper said:

Blackbriar_040 said:

Switched my Cash Lisa from Moneybox to Tembo last year, have just initiated another 2 ISA switches from Trading212 and another Moneybox ISA to them.

The app has had a refresh and is fairly intuitive to use, never had any issues with transferring funds or any usability problems.
Communication wise, they have been fairly responsive! I would say quicker than Moneybox, in my experience.

If your a 1st time buyer, they offer support in buying your first property, and have a online community, which you can join and ask experts any questions.

Overall am fairly happy with Tembo!

 

Started my Cash ISA switch from Trading 212 last night. How long do you imagine the transfer to take?

It probably depends on how quickly T212 respond. My transfer from Moneybox was complete within 2 business days. When I say “complete”, I mean the money had been added to my Tembo ISA balance. It did not show in the Tembo transaction list until 5 working days after it had left Moneybox. I can’t tell whether this means I lost 5 days of interest. Days later, there is now still a message in my Tembo account saying “transfer in progress”.

Baldeagle095

Surely 4.80% in Tembo for 12 months is better than these promoted accounts of 5.25% for 3 months followed by 4.5% for 9 months?

slinger2

friolento said:

SFCooper said:

Blackbriar_040 said:

Switched my Cash Lisa from Moneybox to Tembo last year, have just initiated another 2 ISA switches from Trading212 and another Moneybox ISA to them.

The app has had a refresh and is fairly intuitive to use, never had any issues with transferring funds or any usability problems.
Communication wise, they have been fairly responsive! I would say quicker than Moneybox, in my experience.

If your a 1st time buyer, they offer support in buying your first property, and have a online community, which you can join and ask experts any questions.

Overall am fairly happy with Tembo!

 

Started my Cash ISA switch from Trading 212 last night. How long do you imagine the transfer to take?

It probably depends on how quickly T212 respond. My transfer from Moneybox was complete within 2 business days. When I say “complete”, I mean the money had been added to my Tembo ISA balance. It did not show in the Tembo transaction list until 5 working days after it had left Moneybox. I can’t tell whether this means I lost 5 days of interest. Days later, there is now still a message in my Tembo account saying “transfer in progress”.

Same for me. Transfer from Nationwide but only £200 so potential loss of interest is no big deal. Interested to see how many days I lose even so

masonic

Baldeagle095 said:

Surely 4.80% in Tembo for 12 months is better than these promoted accounts of 5.25% for 3 months followed by 4.5% for 9 months?

It won't be better than 5.25% for 3 months followed by 4.8% at Tembo for 9 months (or whatever Tembo happens to be paying at that time). Or 5.25% for three months with one, followed by 5.25% for 3 months with another, etc. If you can't be bothered to move the money after/every 3 months or have exhausted others' offers, then go for Tembo.

slinger2

You're forgetting people like me who put 90% of their cash ISA money in fixed rate products. I normally wouldn't put more than a few thousand in any of these and couldn't be bothered with the faff of transferring them all the time.

I've got 3 Cash ISAs maturing in next month, all paying 5%+. My priority is the fixed rates or perhaps a good variable rate where I can park some money while I decide what to do.

Zaul22

For people asking what login system they use, they don't have one. As is becoming unfortunately normal for fintech apps, they outsource their security to your email and you login via magic links/code. (then set up biometrics obviously) Similar to Tandem. 

masonic

Zaul22 said:

For people asking what login system they use, they don't have one. As is becoming unfortunately normal for fintech apps, they outsource their security to your email and you login via magic links/code. (then set up biometrics obviously) Similar to Tandem. 

So then access to the registered email account or any device logged into it would be all that is needed to set up the app on a new device. Presumably Tembo permits more than one active device.

The mysterious part is how a bank account could be added. The name would need to match if it was added via Open Banking. Is it possible this was achieved through social engineering customer support to manually add a bank account that doesn't support Open Banking?

friolento

Baldeagle095 said:

Surely 4.80% in Tembo for 12 months is better than these promoted accounts of 5.25% for 3 months followed by 4.5% for 9 months?

which provider is that ISA with, please?

gardigest

Baldeagle095 said:

Surely 4.80% in Tembo for 12 months is better than these promoted accounts of 5.25% for 3 months followed by 4.5% for 9 months?

I feel that Tembo's promise of a 4.8% rate for 12 months is a little misleading. They clearly state that it's not a fixed rate ISA. It's an easy access Cash ISA and therefore the 4.8% is variable (stated on their site). However, at the same time they say: "Rate doesn't drop after 12 months". This is the misleading part. I reckon this is referring to what generally happens with other ISAs whose rates drop drastically at maturity after one year (or more). Also, most banks have a FAQ section where it's clearly stated that the rate cannot change during the life of the product. Tembo do not have this FAQ. However, they do have another which confirms that the ISA rate HAS shifted over the last couple of months:
FAQ/Savings/ then about 25th question down: "What's the interest rate on Tembo's savings products?" You'll see the info in the paragraph "When did the rate last change?" Admittedly, though, they are doing well in keeping the rate relatively high - but it doesn't seem fixed to me. Please correct me if I'm wrong in my analysis because I, too, find their 4.8% promise very appealing.