Frequently asked questions
Here you can quickly find answers to our customers’ most common questions.
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Interest on HiSAVE accounts
- How is interest calculated?
- When is interest paid?
- Where is interest paid?
- Can interest be paid to my linked current account?
- What is the difference between net and gross interest?
- How do I register for gross interest?
- What is the Bank of England base rate?
- Will you tell me when interest rates change?
How is interest calculated?
We calculate interest on a daily basis on the total balance in your account at the end of the day, at the relevant gross rate (subject to you meeting our minimum balance criteria). Interest on HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts is non-cumulative (we do not pay compound interest i.e. interest is paid only on the initial amount invested).
Deposits: Interest is calculated from the working day on which we receive the deposit of funds into your HiSAVE account.
Withdrawals: Interest is paid on money transferred from your account up to the day of (but not including) the day of transfer.
When is interest paid?
HiSAVE Savings Account
You can choose whether you’d like your interest to be paid monthly or annually.
With annual interest, interest is paid on 31 March each year.
With monthly interest, interest is paid on the last day of each month. If the last day is not a working day we will pay your interest on the following working day.
HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts
Your interest will be paid according to the terms of your account.
HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts (with a term of 12 months or less) - maturity interest: interest is paid at the end of the fixed term.
HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts (all other terms) - annual interest: interest is paid on the anniversary of the account opening.
For example, if you hold a two-year HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account opened on 15 August 2009, then you’ll receive yearly interest on 15 August 2010 and 15 August 2011, provided these are working days. If they’re non-working days you’ll receive your interest the following working day.
HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts (all terms) - monthly interest: interest is paid on the last day of the month. If the last day is not a working day, we will pay your interest the following working day.
Where is interest paid?
HiSAVE Savings Account – interest is paid into this account.
HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts – interest is paid into your HiSAVE Savings Account. This will be set up for you when you open a HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account.
Can interest be paid to my linked current account?
No. However you can set up regular payments of a set amount from your HiSAVE Savings Account.
What is the difference between net and gross interest?
Gross interest is the interest credited to your account; tax is not deducted. Net interest refers to the interest that’s left over after tax is deducted, which is currently 20%.
How do I register for gross interest?
To register for gross interest, please send us a completed Revenue and Customs R85 form. Please ensure that your account details are complete on the form.
Incomplete or incorrectly filled R85 forms will not be registered for gross interest and will be returned to your correspondence address within two weeks of receiving the form.
What is the Bank of England base rate?
This is the interest rate set by the Bank of England. It acts as reference rate on which banks are prepared to lend money.
The base rate is set by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, which meets every month to decide whether interest rates will remain the same or go up or down.
For more information, please visit the Bank of England website.
Will you tell me when interest rates change?
We are committed to keeping our savers informed about our interest rates. We may change the interest rates we pay on the savings you have in your HiSAVE Savings Account. If we do so we will post a notice on our website, inform our Customer Service Centre or write to you (by post or email) in the following ways:
- If the change is to your advantage, we will tell you about the change within 30 days of the change
- If the change is not favourable to you, we will tell you about it at least two months in advance of making the change
For changes in the interest rate payable on the HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account, we will communicate the change to you by posting a notice on our website, informing our Customer Service Centre and writing to you by (by post or email) within 30 days of the change.