Frequently Asked Questions

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 your meeting our minimum balance criteria).Interest on HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts is non cumulative (we do not pay compound interest i.e. interest is only paid for the initial amount invested).

Deposits: Interest is calculated from the working day on which we receive the funds into your HiSAVE account.

Withdrawals: Interest will be paid on money transferred from your account up to the day of (but not including) the day of transfer.

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When is interest paid?

HiSAVE Savings Account

You can choose whether your interest is paid monthly or annually.

HiSAVE Savings Account - annual interest: interest is paid on the 31 March each year.

HiSAVE Savings Account - monthly interest: interest is paid on the last day of the month. If the last day is not a working day, we will pay the interest on the next 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 15th August 2009, then you will receive yearly interest on 15th August 2010 and 15th August 2011 provided these are working days or if these are non working days then on next 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 the interest on the next working day.

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Where is interest paid?

HiSAVE Savings Account – interest is paid into this account

HiSAVE Fixed Rate Accounts – interest is paid into to your HiSAVE Savings Account. This will be set up for you when you open a HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account.

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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.

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What is the difference between net and gross interest?

Gross interest is the interest credited to your account without deducting tax. Net interest means the interest left over after tax has been deducted, which is currently 20%.

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How do I register for gross interest?

To register for gross interest, please send us the completed Revenue and Customs R85 form. Please ensure that your account details are complete on the form.

Incomplete or incorrectly filled R85 form will not be registered for gross interest and will be returned to your correspondence address within 2 weeks of receiving the form.

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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 Monetary Policy Committee , which meets every month to decide whether the interest rates will remain the same or go up or down.

For more information, please visit the Bank of England website.

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Will you tell me when interest rates change?

We are committed to keeping our savers informed about our interest rates. We may change interest rates applied to the money you have with us in your HiSAVE Savings account by posting it on the website, informing the Customer Service Centre or writing to you (by post or e-mail) in the following ways:
• If the change is to your advantage, we will tell you about the change within 30 days of the change; and
• If the change is not favourable to you, by telling you about it at least two months in advance of making the change.
For change in interest rate of HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account, we will communicate the change in interest rate to you by posting it on the website, informing the Customer Service Centre and writing to you by (post or e-mail) within 30 days of the change.

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