your questions answered:
easy access isa
About ISAs
- What is an ISA?
- What is the difference between a Cash and Stocks & Shares ISA?
- What combination of ISAs can I invest in each tax year?
- What type of ISA does Icesave offer?
- What are the benefits of saving in a Cash ISA?
ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. They were introduced by the Government to encourage UK residents to save for the future by investing in tax free savings.
There are two types of ISA which are called Cash and Stocks & Shares - each of which can be held with different ISA providers.
A Cash ISA allows you to save up to £3,600 in cash each tax year.
A Stocks & Shares ISA allows you to invest up to £7,200 in stock and shares each tax year (less any cash that you have saved in a Cash ISA in the same tax year).
You can only open one of each type of ISA each tax year. This means by opening a Cash ISA you'll be limiting the amount of investment you can make in stocks and shares through ISAs.
You can only open one of each type of ISA (Cash and Stocks & Shares) each tax year. This means by opening a Cash ISA you'll be limiting the amount of investment you can make in stocks and shares through ISAs.
If you are unsure what types of ISAs you have, you should check with your other ISA providers or your financial advisor if you have one.
Icesave offers a Cash ISA - ours is called an Easy Access ISA.
The rates are often higher than other savings accounts and your savings will grow tax free (free of income tax and capital gains tax).
Opening an Easy Access ISA
- Who can open an Easy Access ISA?
- How do I open an Easy Access ISA?
- You have asked me to send proof of my identity/address - what do you need?
- When will my Easy Access ISA be opened?
- What do I do if I don't have a National Insurance Number?
- Why do I need to set up a Direct Debit between my current account and Easy Access ISA?
- How do I make my initial deposit?
- By transfer from your Easy Access Savings Account
- By transferring-in a Cash ISA from another provider
You can choose to make a transfer in as part of your application or, once your account is open, simply log in and select the option to make a transfer-in to your Easy Access ISA. - By Direct Debit from your nominated account
You will be asked to provide details of a personal UK bank or building society account in your name(s) as part of your application. In most cases you will be given the option to set up an initial transfer by Direct Debit as part of your application. In some instances we may ask you to provide identification documents. In this case, once we have notified you, you will be able to make an initial transfer by Direct Debit by logging into your account, selecting “Make a Transaction” and following the instructions. - By Cheque
Please make cheques payable to your name plus your application reference number (eg: Mr A Smith 00001234SMI) - By CHAPS
Please contact your bank or building society and use the following details to make the transfer:
Our Account Number: 80469947
Our Sort Code: 20-32-53
Beneficiary: Icesave
Please ensure your bank or building society correctly quotes your reference number or account number when making the transfer as any error could result in a delay in allocating the money to your account and could result in the transfer being returned.
Your bank or building society may charge you a fee for making a payment by CHAPS transfer. - Do you accept transfers in from other providers into the Easy Access ISA?
- If I transfer-in a Cash ISA from another provider how long will it take?
To open an Icesave Easy Access ISA you must:
- Be aged 18 or over and a UK resident (excluding Channel Islands and Isle of Man)
- Have regular access to a PC with internet connection and a personal email address
- Have a personal bank or building society current account with Direct Debit facilities
- Have not contributed to, or opened another Cash ISA during this tax year
- Have £1,000 to open an account with
Please note that ISAs can only be held in sole names by private individuals.
Existing customers:
Login and click the 'Open an Easy Access ISA' link and follow the simple instructions. Opening an account this way will take about a minute - click here to login.
New customers:
Simply click apply and you are ready to start. Applying this way will take under 10 minutes. You can speed up your account opening if you have the following to hand:
- Your passport and/or driving licence
- Your bank account details
- Your National Insurance Number (if you have one)
We use the first two of these to validate your identity and address and to set up the nominated bank account (the account linked by Direct Debit to your Icesave account, between which you can move your savings and interest). We may need to ask you to post us certain documents to help us verify your identity and address – we will advise you if this is necessary at the end of your application.
We are legally required to verify your identity before we can open an account for you. The information you provide online will usually be sufficient to complete our requirements. However, there are circumstances in which we may have to ask you to provide documentary proof of identity and/or address. The table below shows acceptable documents to do this.
If you have been asked to supply proof of your identity you should select a document from Column A or for proof of your address, a document from Column B. Please note that you will need to supply an original document except in the case of a document marked *, which may be a copy of the original document.
If you have any queries or have difficulty in supplying the documentation required, please contact us.
.
| COLUMN A : PROOF OF NAME Document(s) provided must show usual forename and your surname. |
COLUMN B : PROOF OF ADDRESS Document(s) must be addressed to you, showing your surname, initials and full current address, including postcode. |
| Current signed UK passport* | Recent utility bill (excluding mobile phone) or statement - less than 3 months old. |
| Current UK driving licence - either photocard AND supporting paperwork OR full old-style licence | Council tax bill - must relate to current financial year |
| Current firearms or shotgun certificate | Current driving licence - either photocard (with supporting paperwork to show full address) or full old-style licence - if not already used as proof of name |
| EEA Member State Identity Card | Bank statement - must show full address and be less than 3 months old. |
| Northern Ireland voters card | Credit card statement - must show full address and be less than 3 months old. |
| Blue disabled drivers pass | Building society passbook or statement - must show full address. Statement must be less than 3 months old. |
| UK Benefits Agency Benefits book | Solicitor's letter confirming house purchase within past three months - must be on solicitor's printed headed paper |
| Benefits Agency notification letter | UK Benefits Agency Benefit book - if not already used as proof of name |
| HM Revenue & Customs tax notification - eg. Coding notification, tax demand - must relate to current or previous tax year only. | HM Revenue & Customs correspondence - must relate to current tax year |
Your Easy Access ISA will be opened on the date that your initial deposit is received.
Please contact us
When you open an Icesave Easy Access ISA you'll be asked to set up a Direct Debit to your bank account (we refer to this account as your nominated account). This will set up a link between your Icesave Easy Access ISA and your nominated account.
The link enables you to move your savings and interest between your nominated account and your Icesave Easy Access ISA at Icesave.co.uk whenever you choose (subject to each tax year's subscription limit).
You are in complete control of this link and money is only ever transferred between your nominated account and Easy Access ISA when you make an online instruction. We will never have access to your nominated account without your instruction.
It is very easy to make an initial deposit into your account in one of the following ways:
Yes you can transfer in Cash ISAs held with other providers into the Icesave Easy Access ISA. You can choose to make a transfer in as part of your application or, once your account is open, simply log in and select the option to make a transfer-in to your Easy Access ISA.
Transfers in from other providers do not count towards your annual subscription limit. There is no restriction to the number of providers you can transfer-in from.
Once we receive your request to transfer-in a Cash ISA from one or more providers we will liaise with each of your current provider(s) to make this happen. It will typically take your current provider(s) at least 30 days to complete all the checks that are required, however, during peak times it can take longer. Once your current provider(s) have completed all these checks they will post us a cheque for the Cash ISA balance that you have selected to transfer to the Icesave Easy Access ISA.
Managing your Easy Access ISA
- How do I move money into my Easy Access ISA?
- How often can I move money into my Easy Access ISA?
- How much can I save in my Easy Access ISA each tax year?
- How do I move money out of my Easy Access ISA?
- Will I get charged for moving money out of my Easy Access ISA?
Once you've made your initial deposit all further deposits are made by Direct Debit from your nominated account (which you set up as part of your application process). To make further deposits simply log in to your account select 'Make a Transaction' and follow the instructions.
You can also transfer-in Cash ISAs held with other providers to the Icesave Easy Access ISA. To do so, simply log in to your account and select the option to make a transfer-in to your Easy Access ISA. Transfers-in do not count towards your annual subscription limit.
Once you've made your initial deposit of £1,000 you can move money into your Easy Access ISA whenever you wish subject to the overall subscription limit of £3,600 each tax year. You can choose to save however you wish - from one lump sum to regular transfers. If you choose to transfer-in Cash ISA's held with other providers this does not count towards your annual subscription limit.
The minimum you can save with an Icesave Easy Access ISA is £1,000. Thereafter you can deposit up to £3,600 each tax year. The maximum subscription each tax year is set by the Government and may change from time to time.
If you choose to transfer-in Cash ISA's held with other providers this does not count towards your annual subscription limit.
Simply log in to your account select 'Make a Transaction' and follow the simple instructions.
Please note that you can only subscribe up to £3,600 each tax year into your Easy Access ISA, irrespective of any withdrawals.
Unless you select to move your money out by CHAPS there are no charges for moving money out of your Easy Access ISA. CHAPS is a special service for which we, like other financial providers, make a small charge. Please refer to our tariff of charges for more information.
Easy Access ISA - General
- When will I start earning interest on deposits?
- By initial cheque deposit
You will earn interest on initial deposits made by cheque from the second business day after we receive the cheque. - By initial CHAPS deposit
You will earn interest on initial deposits made by CHAPS from the date we receive the deposit if received by midday. Funds received after this time will earn interest from the following business day. - By Direct Debit from your nominated account
You will earn interest on deposits made by direct debit from the date we receive the deposit. Please note that when you set up a new nominated account/Direct Debit, you will need to allow eight business days from our receipt of the completed Direct Debit instruction before you can make the first payment. - How and when will I receive interest on my Easy Access ISA?
- Will I receive a statement?
- What happens to my Easy Access ISA if I move abroad?
- Can I cancel my Easy Access ISA?
You can choose to have your interest paid monthly or annually. Interest can be paid:
- To your Easy Access ISA
- To an Icesave Easy Access Savings Account
- Direct into your nominated account in your name(s)
Monthly interest will be paid on the same day of each month as account opening whilst annual interest will be paid on the date as account opening each year.
For both monthly and annual interest paid to your nominated account - if any day is not a business day interest will be paid on the following business day.
We will send you a statement once a year. You are able to check your transaction history, which you may wish to print out and keep. Simply log on to your account and go to Account Summary > View Statements > Print. We recommend that you check your account online regularly and report any anomalies to us immediately.
You must notify us if you cease to be a resident in the UK, or otherwise not qualified for the purposes of the ISA regulations. For the period you are not qualified for the purposes of the ISA regulations you will retain the benefits of the account as at that date but no further subscriptions to the account may be made unless you become resident or otherwise qualified again.
You can cancel your Easy Access ISA within 14 calendar days from the date we receive your initial deposit without affecting your right to subscribe to another Cash ISA. To do this, simply log in to your account, select "Make a Transaction" and follow the instructions.
If you close your Easy Access ISA after this time, you will not be able to open another Cash ISA in the same tax year.
Opening an account under Power of Attorney / Receivership
- What types of Power of Attorney / Receivership Order do you accept?
- How do I open an account under Power of Attorney?
- How do I make the initial deposit for Power of Attorney / Receivership Order applications?
- By Cheque
Send us a cheque from a personal UK bank or building society account in the donor's name. Cheques should me made payable to Donor Name c/o Attorney / Receiver Name - By CHAPS
Once we have sent you the donor's Account Number, you can make a transfer by CHAPS by contacting the donor's bank or building society, provided you have the authority. Simply quote our details below and use the donor's Account Number as the payment reference. This option should be used for an initial investment only
Our Account Number: 80469947
Our Sort Code: 20-32-53
Beneficiary: Icesave
The donor's bank or building society may charge a fee for making a payment by CHAPS transfer.
- By transfer from the donor's account
Once the account has been opened you can log in and make a transfer by direct debit from the nominated account. - Do you accept multiple attorneys or receivers on an account?
- Can I open a Joint Account under a Power of Attorney or Receivership Order?
- My Power of Attorney / Receivership Order has specific conditions; can I still open an account?
- I have been granted Power of Attorney / a Receivership Order for someone who already holds an account with you, what do I need to do?
We accept an Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order with a Court of Protection stamp on every page. The Power of Attorney or Receivership Order must authorise the attorney or receiver to manage the donor's financial affairs fully and completely without restrictions or conditions. As the account is operated online, we cannot accept an Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order with multiple attorneys or receivers where attorneys or receivers are required to act jointly.
To open an account download the application form, complete it and send it to us with the original Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order (or a certified copy) and identification documents for the attorney(s) or receiver(s). All you need to do then is make the initial deposit.
You can register up to 4 attorneys or receivers for each account. Each attorney or receiver will be given a User ID and password to enable each to log in to the account. Each attorney or receiver will be able to independently give instructions on the account, including the transfer of money. We cannot restrict access to any one named attorney or receiver and neither can we accept a Power of Attorney or Receivership Order with multiple attorneys or receivers where the attorneys or receivers are required to act jointly. Correspondence will be sent to the first named attorney or receiver.
Yes. You can open a joint account where one or both account holders are subject to an Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order, provided that the Power of Attorney or Receivership Order authorises the attorney or receiver to manage the donor's financial affairs fully and completely. Simply complete one application form for each account holder.
We will accept an Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order that authorises you to manage the donor's financial affairs fully and completely. If you would like to talk to us about your personal circumstances, please contact us.
If you have been granted an Enduring Power of Attorney or Receivership Order that authorises you to manage the donor's financial affairs fully and completely, we can amend the account details to enable you to operate the account on behalf of the donor. Please provide details of the account number and complete the Attorney / Receiver Details section of the Enduring Power of Attorney / Receivership Order Application Form and send it to us with the original Power of Attorney or Receivership Order (or a certified copy) and proof of identity for you. Please contact us for more information.
