Zopa (existing) vs Trading 212

Qyburn

I've been caught on the hop so to speak. Latest I had from Zopa indicated the rate was going to drop to 3.80%. Although actually the rate shown in the app was and still is 4.50% AER rather than 4.3

"You’re currently earning 4.30% AER* (4.21% gross**) variable on Access ISA pots. This includes a 0.5% AER*/gross** fixed bonus rate, which will expire on 6th April 2025. After that, you’ll earn 3.80% AER* (3.73% gross**) variable."

  So with that 3.8% looming I decided to jump ship to Trading 212. Transfer request was submitted on 24th March and is still pending, and could be cancelled.

Now Zopa have rocked the boat with a bonus if I transfer in.

"We’re offering an exclusive 3-month fixed 1.01% AER* bonus to loyal customers like you just for transferring a cash ISA to Zopa!"

As it happens I do need to reduce the balance on my Virgin cash ISA so it would suit me very well to transfer part of it out. So I'm swithering. Zopa would still be paying a little less, but it's known quantity. Whereas Trading 212 is new and I have seen various sorts of hassles reported.

slinger2

ZOPAs underlying ISA rate has been increased recently from 3.8% to 4.0%. Many us will be getting that rate from tomorrow.

Personally I made a transfer request out from Zopa about 10 days. That money has disappeared from Zopa this morning. My Access ISA is still there but contains £0.00. Now I'm wondering whether I can now transfer an ISA into Zopa to get the newly advertised bonus.

Qyburn

slinger2 said:

Personally I made a transfer request out from Zopa about 10 days. That money has disappeared from Zopa this morning. My Access ISA is still there but contains £0.00. Now I'm wondering whether I can now transfer an ISA into Zopa to get the newly advertised bonus.

I can't see why not, but you could ask Zopa. I was thinking of doing similar as a compromise, but I don't know how long Zopa's offer is open.

My last Virgin->Zopa transfer took only one working day, so it's likely that if I start it right now it will complete while Zopa->T212 transfer is still pending. Since that has to be a full transfer, this would mean everything ends up in T212.

One other factor is that T212 bonus rate is conditional on funding within 7 days or something, which has now ended while my transfer was still in their queue. I don't quite trust that I'll still get the bonus even though I submitted the transfer within that time.

T212 has a few oddities, one being that when you fill in the transfer form it goes in a "queue" and they don't even look at it for a week or so.

slinger2

ZOPA email says: "The minimum amount you can transfer is £500, and the transfer must be completed before 1st June 2025 to qualify for the bonus rate." The bonus applies for three months from the date of the transfer.

dingling68

Qyburn said:

T212 has a few oddities, one being that when you fill in the transfer form it goes in a "queue" and they don't even look at it for a week or so.

I requested a transfer from Zopa to T212 29/3/25 and had a message that I was no 570 in the queue and would be reviewed in 7 days.
By 1/4/25 I was number 255, then 101, then 33 in the queue on 3/4/25.
I had the message that they had contacted Zopa 4/4/25 so waiting agin now

Edit to add: sorry I appear to have deleted Qyburn's quote regarding the 7 day review!