Plum ISA

NebulaNova

Can someone explain this to me please?

• The 2.54% base rate is paid monthly and your are protected by the UK’s FSCS safety scheme, as Plum holds your savings with Lloyds Bank, Citibank, QNB and BBVA. For more on this see Are my savings safe?
• The 2.03% bonus is calculated daily but only paid after one year. It’s not FSCS protected, but it’s ringfenced, meaning you’d still have a right to it if Plum went bust.

What exactly isn't protected? And MSE says interest is paid monthly and annually which is confusing.

Thanks

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6662348/plum-isa

The bonus.

masonic

Normally, accrued interest in a deposit account is covered. This bonus, and potentially any conditional bonus, would not be. In this case it has the added disadvantage of being promised by an entity without a banking licence.

The basic interest is paid monthly, whereas the bonus interest is paid at the end of the bonus period (i.e. annually) subject to you meeting the conditions.

MisterMotivated

I'm not keen on the idea of them paying the bonus after 12 months on a variable rate account. The cynic in me can't help but wonder if Plum will cut the main interest rate significantly mid-year, meaning customers have to either accept the lower rate in order to get the year-end bonus, or transfer out and accept the base interest up until the date of leaving… Leaving £1 in the account and manually withdrawing the rest then re-depositing in another flexible ISA could be a workaround (I couldn't see any mention of partial transfers out being allowed, though it does state partial transfers in are not allowed) but, I wonder if many non-MSE-type customers would think of that.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949797#Comment_81949797

Over the past 12 months, they kept the rate in line with base rate movements for the first 6 months, after which the rate did start falling more than reductions in base rate. It was just the final 3 months where it was looking a little uncompetitive.

Regarding withdrawing, there is a minimum £100 balance to be maintained to be eligible for the bonus, the ISA is not flexible, and they do not accept partial transfer out of current year money.

MisterMotivated

Thanks for the insight. I can't see any mention of the £100 minimum balance on the website, so yet another potential trap if people start looking for better rates elsewhere.

The account is now flexible (I believe they changed it in the last week or so).

masonic

Perhaps they dropped the minimum balance too, as that used to be mentioned reasonably clearly.

NebulaNova

If you transfer out of plum after 6 months, do you lose your bonus interest?

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949960#Comment_81949960

Doesn't this answer your question?

https://withplum.com/cash-isa

KTog

I was curious about bonus conditions about transfers and asked them:

am uncertain about Partial transfers or withdrawal.What happens to the bonus rate if I only withdraw or partial ISA transfer some of the funds out of the ISA?

This was their reply, Jan '26

To clarify:

• Withdrawals: You can withdraw funds from your Cash ISA at any time. Making withdrawals does not affect your eligibility for the bonus rate, unless your balance drops below £100. If your balance goes below £100, the bonus rate will be lost, but it will be restored if your balance goes back above £100. There is no longer a restriction on the number of withdrawals affecting your bonus.
• Partial Transfers Out: If you transfer any amount out of your Cash ISA to another provider—whether it is a partial or full transfer—the bonus rate will be lost, and you will only receive the base rate from that point onward. This applies regardless of the amount transferred out.
• Bonus Payment Timing: If you transfer out or close your Cash ISA before the bonus has been credited, you will lose any uncredited bonus. If the bonus has already been paid into your account, you will keep what has been credited up to that point.

Dealhunter83

Hi. I'm a newbie here - I've been looking at Plum to transfer my ISA and looks like their minimum balance is now £1 and ISA is flexible like you say.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949833#Comment_81949833