Nat west not accepting 9 digit account reference

middlewife

I'm trying to add a Principality building society new cash ISA account to my NatWest current account payees list. As is common with building societies the same account number and sort code are given to everyone, it's the individual savings account number that is entered into the reference section and identifies where the cash is sent. Not for the first time NAT west says it's an "invalid reference, not recognised", however the reference is 9 digits . I haven't had any issues setting up payees with other building societies, but this seems to be a problem every time I try to set up accounts with principality references. Last time after ringing both banks who both blamed each other, it eventually accepted the reference, around a week later. Nat west is satisfied all the account details match, but won't let me add the reference. Anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions? Thanks

flaneurs_lobster

Not trying to add a second PrinBS payee account where one already exists?

Won't work.

middlewife

So, I'll have to delete the existing account which I pay into sporadically, as the new account is a high interest regular saver that I want to set up DD into, which is limited to £150 per month, meaning there's no way I can have 2 accounts linked? It's not a problem with Coventry BS because they give you separate account numbers, previously I've had to delete and add accounts each month in order to pay into them, which is theoretically possible but a right pain.....

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087504#Comment_82087504

You can't fund PrinBS savings accounts by direct debit, do you mean standing order?

Correct, you can only have one payee set up with the same account no/sort code.

Two possible solutions.

1. use a different account to fund PrinBS, several do not have the same restriction as NatWest/RBS eg Chase, firstdirect.
2. set up a PrinBS easy access saver and fund that from NatWest. You can then transfer internally on the PrinBS website to as many other accounts as you need.

middlewife

Thanks flaneurs lobster, only have two current accounts but both with NAT west. So option 2 will work, thanks, just needed someone else to point it out :)

friolento

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087564#Comment_82087564

It is generally a good idea to have more than one current account, in case something goes wrong with your main account. But the secondary current account should be with an entirely different company. Have you considered switching your second current account for a switch offer?

middlewife

Hmmmmm, so, deleted all previous Principality payees, set up new easy access account, added the new account payee details and STILL got the following message

"Invalid reference

Sorry, we couldn't confirm the payee's details because the reference isn't one we recognise for this account number and sort code. This puts you at risk of being scammed or your payment not reaching the right account.

Please double-check and amend this reference. Alternatively, contact the payee on a phone number you know and trust to get the correct reference. "

So, now not able to pay any money in at all, will try again on Monday, the phone service is faster than emailing as they don't have instant messaging, I think…..

middlewife

The second account is just a "pocket money" account, funded from the main account so wouldn't meet the minimum payment requirements for a current account, even with my small NHS pension, would be below £1k, but thank you, have a nationwide account with a branch where we live, so can always access emergency cash if required, but take your point….

dcs34

FYI you will normally need to wait 24 hours/overnight before Confirmation of Payee works for new accounts. Note that can mean working days.

When they say "the reference isn't one we recognise for this account number and sort code" this is nothing to do with it being nine digits in length; it's simply that Principality haven't yet added your brand new account to the big list of all their possible customer account references, so when NatWest tries to run their Confirmation of Payee check against that list, they can't find that reference number on the Principality list, hence you get an error message that they don't recognise the reference (but they know the account number and sort code do match a live account i.e. Principality's customer deposit account with whichever bank they use).

So you could:

• Wait overnight and try to make the payment again - you should be able to get CoP match to pass.
• Push the payment through now but run the risk that if you've entered details incorrectly, NatWest might not reimburse you.

And as pointed out above it is a limitation of NatWest's payee system that only one payee per AN/SC combination can be saved at once. That means customers with multiple savings accounts with the same institutions (i.e. same account number and sort code, but different references specific to each account) have to either:

• Make a payment to the first account, then delete the payee, then add a new payee and make the payment to the second account, etc.
• Setup easy access accounts with all institutions they have multiple saving accounts with, so that a single combined payment can be made into the easy access account from NatWest, and then make transfers from the EA account to the separate savings accounts.

friolento

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087841#Comment_82087841

There are plenty of current accounts, most actually, which do not need any minimum monthly deposits. If there are any deposit requirements, they can be met with multiple small deposits. For example, First Direct, who also seem to have a permanent switch offer, want £1,000 deposit in the first month. You can do one transfer in, and immediately transfer the money back to where it came from. Or 2 x £500, 5 x £200 etc etc. You’d also need a couple of small SOs, which can again be set up to pay yourself, e.g. into a savings account in your name. It’s a little effort but pays £175 net, and gives you a £250 free overdraft, too.

Anyway, I’ll now stop trying to convince you 😉

middlewife

Thanks dcs34, that makes sense, NAT west seem to have tightened up the payee process, at one time you could override the warning if it didn't recognise the account details, but this is a separate problem that can't be overridden, so will just wait until Monday and try again.