Fixed ISA Help

jimjames

can I close the ISA or move it to a cash ISA 

A Fixed ISA is a cash ISA, they are the same product just with different terms and conditions for access compared to an instant access ISA.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82125527#Comment_82125527

as that accounts 'start date' is 27th October 2025, 

Presume you mean 2026 ? If so that is very strange . Are you sure they did not say your funds have to arrive before that date? their webpage says .

Applications for this Fixed Rate ISA are available until 5pm on 07 October 2026 to new-to-bank customers and 12 October 2026 to existing customers.

Maybe they extend it to 25th for transfers in as they normally should take no longer than 15 days.

On their webpage for fixed rate cash ISAa it says this -

Interest is paid on a tiered basis at these fixed rates from the date you open your account until the Maturity Date. 

Which is normal.

NebulaNova

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82125659#Comment_82125659

So what would happen in terms of interest being earned if I did this today and they received the transfer on say the 20th Sept? Do I only earn a small bit of interest until Oct?

eskbanker

The extract from their website posted earlier clearly explains that interest is paid as normal (i.e. based on daily balances), and October has no significance for interest, in that it's purely used to calculate the maturity date, despite what may have been stated or implied by an employee who chose a different interpretation!

cc123mm456

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82125686#Comment_82125686

If you start an ISA transfer now, it will start earning interest in NatWest from the day that the ISA transfer occurs on. It will be calculated at the full interest rate from that day on.

Most ISA transfers take less than 15 days, but that depends on a few factors. Mainly whether both banks are participants of the BACS automated ISA transfer system, but it also depends the efficiency of the destination bank's processes for commencing the transfer.

For the last few ISA transfers that I've made, in every case the bank that it was transferred from paid the interest up to the day of closing the account, then it was credited to the account at the new bank (and started earning interest) on the same day. So there was no gap where the balance was not earning interest.

If your current ISA is easy access, and you've decided that you want to transfer it to this fixed term account (because that the chance of needing the funds before the end of term is relatively small), then the only thing remaining to check is what interest rate is the ISA balance earning now. If it's less than the rate offered by NatWest, then the sooner that you start the transfer, the more interest will be earned.

Just be sure that you've read and understood the section of the NatWest summary regarding the dates of maturity. The dates are fixed, near the end of October, so the savings period is actually more than 1 or 2 years. That can be to your benefit, because you'll earn the interest for a longer time, but you'll need to remember that maturity date is not the anniversary of the account opening.

Albermarle

If it's less than the rate offered by NatWest, then the sooner that you start the transfer, the more interest will be earned.

Also note from the website

Applications for this Fixed Rate ISA are available until 5pm on 07 October 2026 to new-to-bank customers and 12 October 2026 to existing customers. Please note that these offers may be withdrawn early due to availability