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Savings

Active Savings questions hero

Active Savings
FAQs

Moving money

Your account

Fixed Terms

Easy Access

Opening an Active Savings Account

  • Who is eligible to open an account?

    At the moment, you can only open an account in the name of an individual aged 18 or over.

    You can’t apply for an account if you live overseas or aren’t a UK resident for tax purposes. Unfortunately, we can’t offer joint accounts or those for children or companies.

  • What type of savings products can I access through Active Savings?

    You can typically choose from easy access, limited access and fixed term savings. Fixed terms usually range from 1 month up to 5 years. The products available will regularly change, depending on what our banking partners are offering at the time. This means that not all products will be available all the time.

  • What is the minimum amount I can open an Active Savings Account with?

    You don’t need to add any money to simply open an Active Savings Account. When you choose a savings product they may have a minimum amount that you need to open the product with – full information will be provided in the summary box before you open the product.

    Please be aware the maximum payment you can make with a debit card is £99,999.00, although your bank may set lower limits. If you wish to add more than this to your Active Savings Account then you will need to make multiple debit card payments. You have 30 working days to choose a product or your money may be returned to you.

  • Can I save in an ISA or SIPP?

    Our Cash ISA is now available. You can open it and manage it alongside other HL accounts. Find out more

    At the moment, we don’t offer a cash savings product in a SIPP although we hope to offer this in the future.

  • Is there a limit to the number of products I can have within my Active Savings Account?

    No, you can open as many products as you wish.

  • What if I change my mind about adding money to a fixed term product?

    You can cancel an instruction to add money to a fixed term product at any time before the application deadline. If there is the option to cancel there will be a clock icon by the product in the account overview screen:

    To cancel your instruction head to the product details under the timer and select the red ‘cancel’ in the pending actions section.

    Once the application deadline has passed you can no longer cancel your instruction. But some fixed term savings products may offer a cooling off period. Please check individual product summaries for details and only commit savings once you are happy with the terms.

  • Can I open an Active Savings Account without choosing a product?

    Yes. You don’t need to add any money or choose a savings product to open an Active Savings Account. Once you have opened an account you’ll have access to our full range of savings products, including any private offers which are only shown to Active Savings clients (when they are available).

  • Do you offer easy access savings?

    Yes, some of our partner banks and building societies can offer easy access through Active Savings. They may not offer easy access savings all the time, so there could be periods where we don’t have any easy access products available.

  • What is the cash hub?

    We are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution, which means we must treat your money in a certain way.

    • All money coming in and going out of your Active Savings Account goes through the cash hub.
    • The cash hub is a segregated bank account, currently held with Barclays Bank plc, where your money will be safeguarded by us until you choose what to do with it. You won’t earn any interest on money held in the cash hub.
    • Money in the cash hub is either protected through the FCA’s safeguarding rules if we (Hargreaves Lansdown Savings Ltd) were to fail, or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), if Barclays were to fail. Read more about how your money is protected.
    • When we receive your money into the cash hub, we’ll immediately issue your Active Savings Account with the same amount of electronic money (e-money) so you can put it into a savings product or withdraw it.
    • E-money is simply an electronic monetary value, equal to your money held in the cash hub, which we are authorised by the FCA to hold on your behalf.
    • You won’t earn any interest until you add your e-money to savings products. If you haven’t done this within 30 working days of the e-money being issued, we may return your money to you. We’ll let you know if we do.
  • What is e-money?

    We are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution, which means we must treat your money in a certain way.

    When we receive your money into the cash hub, we’ll immediately issue your Active Savings Account with the same amount of electronic money (e-money) so you can put it into a savings product or withdraw it.

    E-money is simply an electronic monetary value, equal to your money held in the cash hub, which we are authorised by the FCA to hold on your behalf.

Managing your savings

  • How do I withdraw my savings?

    To withdraw money from your Active Savings account, select the ‘withdraw’ button in your Active Savings account.

    Please note, the balance will first need to be available in your cash hub.

    If the money is held in an easy access or limited access product, you will find the option to ‘withdraw’ beside the product – this will send the money back to the cash hub.

    If you have money in a fixed term product you will need to wait until the product matures and your savings have been returned to the cash hub before they can be withdrawn.

    Please remember, you can’t withdraw money from fixed term products before they reach their maturity date – except for a limited number of exceptional circumstances (e.g. terminal ill health).

    If the money is settled within the cash hub it will typically be sent via faster payments, which usually complete within one working day.

    If you’re withdrawing from an Easy or Limited Access product it could take up to two working days for the money to be paid into your nominated bank account.

    However, if the funds have been on the system for less than 60 days, or you have recently done a debit card top up, we may need to process the withdrawal via a debit card refund. This can take 3 - 5 working days for the funds to clear with your bank. We do so to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

  • How do I open a savings product?

    You can open a new savings product at any time by logging into your HL Account and then selecting the ‘open a savings product’ tab in your Active Savings Account.

    You will be presented with a list of all available products to choose from. By selecting the ‘details & apply’ button you can view the key information for each product and then apply if you wish to do so.

    You can either top up your cash hub before you choose a savings product, via the ‘top up’ button, or you can top up as part of the process when you open a new product.

  • What happens when my fixed term savings end?

    Around 14 days before your savings product matures, we’ll send you an email to let you know what your options are. Once your savings product has matured, we’ll return your initial savings and any interest you have earned to the cash hub. You then have 30 working days to decide what to do, or your money may be returned to you.

  • Will my easy access product be closed if I withdraw all savings?

    No, it will remain open and you can add more money later without reapplying.

  • How do I top up?

    When you log into your HL account, you’ll see a ‘top up’ button next to your Active Savings Account. This will give you the option to top up via debit card, or from your Fund & Share Account (if you have one).

    You are unable to top any fixed term products that have already started, however you are able to top up existing Easy Access or Limited Access products that you hold.

    In order to add additional funds to your Easy or Limited Access Active Savings product(s), providing there is no pending instruction, you would first need to click into your Active Savings Account.

    From here, you will find an ‘add money' button next to the name of your Easy or Limited Access product. Once selected, you will need to enter the amount you would like to top up from available funds in your cash hub and press 'continue'.

  • Can I manage my account through the mobile app?

    You can manage all features of your Active Savings Account through the website. We’re currently working on launching features onto the mobile app in phases, so some features may not be available yet.

  • How are my savings held?

    Your savings will be held with the bank and/or building society under either a direct model, or a pooled model. The majority of our banks are under the pooled model. If you have further question on which banks fall under which category, please get in touch with our Helpdesk.

Interest payments, charges and tax

  • What tax information will be provided?

    As part of your April bi-annual statement, we will send you a consolidated tax schedule which summarises all the interest you have received in the previous tax year from the products held in your Active Savings Account along with all your other holdings within Hargreaves Lansdown accounts. You are responsible for submitting this to HMRC with your tax return.

  • Do I pay any charges?

    We don’t charge you directly, instead we charge our banking partners. This means the same or similar products offered directly by the banks and building societies may have different interest rates to those available on Active Savings.

  • How is the interest I receive taxed?

    All interest is paid gross i.e without any tax deducted. Interest received from products held in your Active Savings Account, count towards your Personal Savings Allowance. You are responsible for paying any tax due on interest that exceeds your Personal Savings Allowance to HM Revenue and Customs.

  • When will I receive any interest?

    How interest will be paid varies by product.

    For easy access savings interest accrues daily and is typically paid on the first working day of the month. Any interest received accrues within the product rather than being paid out to the cash hub.

    For fixed term savings interest is typically paid annually into the cash hub. Products running for less than a year will have both the capital and all interest repaid into the cash hub at maturity. Please see individual product summaries for details.

    Please note that some products calculate interest up to and including the maturity date. This means your money will earn an extra day of interest, but it will be returned to the cash hub on the working day following maturity.

    When interest payments are made into the cash hub they can then be withdrawn or saved into a new product. Once in the cash hub any interest received will need to be added to a product within 30 working days, or it may be returned to you.

  • Can my interest rate change?

    If the rate on your savings product is variable then it can go up or down at any time. For more information you can see the Terms and Conditions within the summary box before opening the product. If your rate does change you will be given two weeks’ notice.

    If the rate on your savings product is fixed then it will stay the same until the product matures.

  • Why is the gross rate sometimes higher than AER rate?

    The gross rate depends how the banks have calculated their interest figures. Sometimes, banks can use compounded gross figures, and sometimes they don't.

    Therefore, in some cases the gross rates can be displayed as higher than AER

    AER (Annual Equivalent Rate) shows what the interest rate/expected profit rate would be if it was paid and compounded once each year. It helps you compare the rates on different savings products.

    Gross shows the interest rate without any tax removed. Interest/profits are paid gross. You are responsible for paying any tax due on interest/profits that exceed your Personal Savings Allowance to HM Revenue & Customs. Tax treatment can change. Easy access products provide variable rates and fixed term products pay a fixed rate.

  • Why do my records differ to what HMRC are reporting?

    HMRC are aware there is potential for duplication of interest being reported and advise on their website:

    HMRC use information provided to them directly by banks, building societies and financial institutions about any savings interest income you receive. They may use this to send you a bill at the end of the tax year and/or to amend your tax code. You should check the figure very carefully, as the amount can be incorrect. For example, the figures for joint accounts may not be reported correctly (especially if the account is not held in equal shares), estimated amounts from prior years may be rolled forward, or figures can even be duplicated. If you are unsure, you should contact HMRC to ask them for a breakdown.

    Our Partner Banks are also required to submit an annual return call a ‘Bank & Building Society Return’. For most of our banks as they run under our ‘pooled’ model they submit a total amount of interest paid to HLSL within the tax year as a ‘non individual’. This is because they do not hold the underlying client details to report on. Coventry are different to this as they operate under our ‘direct’ model they do hold underlying client data so when submitting their report they can provide the client data (name, address, DOB) along with the interest amount paid to them. As both HLSL and Coventry report the interest with the client data this should not cause any duplications between the two reports with HMRC.

  • Do banks/HL inform HMRC of savings interest?

    Banks and other financial institutions (e.g. HL) report all interest to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at the end of each tax year.

    Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) Active Savings is a deposit aggregator. This means interest earned by clients can be reported by different financial institutions, which may cause duplicate reporting to HMRC. HL will do the following:

    1. HL will provide a tax certificate to clients at the end of every tax year showing the overall interest earned. This will be a combination of all interest earned including fixed term interest paid to the cash hub, easy access and limited access interest. Clients can refer to their monthly statements to review the interest earned.

    2. HL will provide to HMRC an itemised breakdown of interest earned by clients.

    Within Active Savings the only bank that is able to report client interest directly to HMRC is Coventry Building Society as they hold individual client data, all other banks can only provide a total amount paid to HLSL as a ‘non-individual’ as they do not hold individual client data.

  • Will I continue to earn interest over non working days?

    This depends on which bank is providing your savings product. To find out whether the bank offers interest over non-working days, please contact our helpdesk.

FSCS

  • How are my savings protected?

    We’re authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution but we’re not a bank. This means that in different scenarios your money is protected in different ways.

    How your money in a savings product is protected

    When your money is in a savings product through Active Savings, it’s held by that bank or building society.

    If the bank or building society providing the savings product fails:

    If the bank or building society were to fail, the FSCS will protect your money up to £85,000 per banking licence.

    When using Active Savings, it may take longer to receive your money from the FSCS than if you saved directly with the bank or building society. But as a guide, the FSCS aim to make all payments back to savers within three months.

    If HL Savings Ltd fails:

    As your money is held by the bank or building society who provides the product, it will not be affected if we go out of business and will still be covered by the FSCS. But it may take longer to get back than if it was saved directly with the bank or building society.

    How your money in the cash hub is protected

    Any money you pay into your Active Savings account goes into the cash hub while you choose your savings products. When you take money out of a savings product it goes back into the cash hub while you decide what to do with it.

    If HL Savings Ltd fails:

    As an electronic money institution, we issue you electronic money (e-money) equal to your money held in the cash hub. This is so you can see how much money you hold. But the cash hub isn’t a savings account and it doesn’t pay any interest.

    In the unlikely event that we (HL Savings Ltd) fail, your money in the cash hub is not covered by the FSCS. Instead, it’s protected through the FCA’s safeguarding rules.

    Money in the cash hub is kept separately from our own company money in a safeguarded account with an approved bank (currently Barclays Bank Plc) that creditors can’t access.

    There’s no limit to the amount protected through safeguarding, but some costs could be taken by the administrator or liquidator if we were to fail. This could impact the amount that you receive, and it could take longer to get your money back than if it were held directly with a bank.

    If the cash hub account provider fails:

    If Barclays were to fail, the FSCS will protect up to £85,000 of your eligible deposits in the cash hub, but it may take longer to get your money back than if it were held directly with Barclays. If you hold money with Barclays outside of Active Savings as well, either directly or through other providers, this may also fall under the same £85,000 limit.

    More about how your money is protected

Transferring between HL accounts


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