Savings Rate Tart

jamesblue · 5 July 2017 at 8:42PM

I have been a lazy saver because of the record low savings rates. But now want to stay on of my savings, and have the following questions

1. What is the best UK Account aggregation site, so you can see where the money is at and get a overall balance?

2. Same site if it has it, or another where you can put in how much you have then get emailed if the rate is no longer the best and where they suggest to change to?

Thank you

YorkshireBoy · 5 July 2017 at 8:49PM

Record low rates? I wouldn't call 3-5% particularly low in the current climate.

All you need is on this very website. Google ewise account unity for your account aggregator.

jamesblue · 5 July 2017 at 9:21PM

Sorry I meant the Base Rate. I know there are current accounts that pay good rate, but only on small amounts. Otherwise savings accounts are poor, even fixed 5 years pay less then 3%.

I will have a look at ewise.

Thanks

RG2015 · 5 July 2017 at 10:13PM

Not sure if it is quite what you mean but Savings Champion is quite good and does some of the things you ask for.

jamesblue · 5 July 2017 at 10:21PM

RG2015 wrote: »

Not sure if it is quite what you mean but Savings Champion is quite good and does some of the things you ask for.

Savings Champion looks good, for the other question I was asking account aggregation, helps you manager your money better, just created a login with Money Dashboard and testing it out.

Thanks

RG2015 · 5 July 2017 at 10:51PM

Savings Champion allows you to input all of your savings account balances and gives you a total at the bottom. A very simple aggregation function. But they do provide emails and good information on the market leading savings accounts.

As regards Money Dashboard and other banking software I believe that some require you to put in your banking security details to facilitate data downloads. These sites and programs are probably completely secure and private however they may break banking terms and conditions requiring that passwords and PINs are never disclosed to anyone.

If however the data is transferred manually then this is unlikely to breach banking Ts & Cs. I believe that this whole issue remains a grey area.

jimjames · 5 July 2017 at 11:05PM

jamesblue wrote: »

Sorry I meant the Base Rate. I know there are current accounts that pay good rate, but only on small amounts. Otherwise savings accounts are poor, even fixed 5 years pay less then 3%.

Depends what you call small amounts, I don't call £20k plus small amounts but everyone is different. If you already have enough savings then maybe look at investments next?

Reaper · 6 July 2017 at 10:12AM

For an account aggregator I use https://www.ewise.com.au/accunity/aa/home.asp

Various banks use this software for aggregation (eg First Direct) but I prefer using the source software as it is faster.

Note that it is deliberately bare bones as they intend banks to buy it off them and add their own branding. You need to use Internet Explorer with it (not Edge).

It will connect to all your savings, banks account, credit cards etc with a single master login. All the account passwords are held encrypted on your local machine only. It also means you can log in to any one of them without having to remember your passwords (other than the master).

I don't trust the various mobile Apps available to manage your money, I suspect they are gathering data for spam marketing.

stephennt · 6 July 2017 at 12:05PM

RG2015 wrote: »

As regards Money Dashboard and other banking software I believe that some require you to put in your banking security details to facilitate data downloads. These sites and programs are probably completely secure and private however they may break banking terms and conditions requiring that passwords and PINs are never disclosed to anyone.

If however the data is transferred manually then this is unlikely to breach banking Ts & Cs. I believe that this whole issue remains a grey area.

European PSD2 directive kicks in in a few months - by law banks are required to open up to account aggregators...

RG2015 · 6 July 2017 at 1:47PM

stephennt wrote: »

European PSD2 directive kicks in in a few months - by law banks are required to open up to account aggregators...

Thanks. I hadn't heard about this. Does this mean that banks are going to have to change their Ts&Cs to qualify the clauses that prohibit disclosure of passwords and PINs?

Reaper · 6 July 2017 at 4:38PM

RG2015 wrote: »

Thanks. I hadn't heard about this. Does this mean that banks are going to have to change their Ts&Cs to qualify the clauses that prohibit disclosure of passwords and PINs?

It was news to me to, but yes they will have no choice. I had a very quick read. Security will be based on 2 or more of the following: knowledge (eg password), possession (eg code making device) and inheritance (eg fingerprint).

And it's not just aggregation it's payments too. For example if you want to buy something off Amazon but don't own a credit card a 3rd party can arrange payment from your bank account instead - that means banks may lose their front facing role and become mere repositories. I can image Google or somebody offering banking services that tap into a variety of savings and bank accounts in the background leaving the bank regulated to a minor role, separated from their customers. If I were a bank I would be worried.

Savings Rate Tart

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