Savings: Frequently Asked Questions

Posted in Questions Answered

We answer your commonly asked questions about saving with Charity Bank.


Q. Can I open an account if I am not a UK resident or UK based organisation?

A. Charity Bank’s mission is to serve communities in the United Kingdom by attracting deposits from UK residents or UK-based organisations and by lending to UK-based charities and other social sector organisations. Charity Bank does not accept deposits from non-UK residents or non-UK based organisations.

Q. How does Charity Bank support vulnerable customers wishing to apply for an account?

A. We understand that challenging situations, whether temporary or permanent, can make it more difficult to apply for and maintain your account with us. Please refer to our Customer Support guidance or contact us by phone: 01732 441944 or by email: enquiries@charitybank.org should you need any support before completing your application.


Q. How do I open an account?

A. Personal, Business, CTUA (Charities, Trusts, and Unincorporated Associations) and Credit Union savers can open an account by:

  • Applying for any of our accounts easily online by clicking on ‘Apply online’ on your chosen product page of our website. Once you have submitted your application online, you will receive an email from us with an Application Summary pdf (portable document format), to print, sign and return to us by post at our Tonbridge Office ; or
  • Complete a postal application by downloading an application form from our website by clicking on 'Apply by post' on your chosen product page or these can be found under our Savings Accounts: Document Library. Alternatively, you can contact us contact us by phone:01732 441944 or by email: enquiries@charitybank.org to request that an application form is sent to you by post. Once completed forms should be returned to the Tonbridge Office.



Q. How do I operate my account?

A. You can operate your account by post, email and telephone, with our friendly UK based Savings team, who are always willing to support you. Currently we do not offer internet banking once your account is open.

Q. When will I receive a statement of my account?

A. For managed rate accounts statements are issued annually in April or May. Fixed rate account holders will receive a statement annually soon after the anniversary of account opening and at maturity or closure.

If you want to receive statements more frequently or at a specific time of the year, please contact us by phone: 01732 441944 or email: enquiries@charitybank.org to discuss your needs further.

A statement is also issued after each debit/credit to your account (if the terms of your account allow additional funds), please let us know if you do not wish to receive a statement after each transaction.


Q. What happens if I change my mind about opening an account?

A. If you change your mind once we have confirmed your account has been opened you have 14-calendar days to instruct us to close your account - this is known as a cooling off period. You can advise us initially by phone or email but this will need to be followed by an instruction in writing signed in line with your mandate which should be posted to our Tonbridge Office. We will then close your account without penalty or notice and pay any funds to your nominated account together with any interest that it may have earned. If you opened a Cash ISA and effect these cancellation rights, any deposit(s) will not count towards your current ISA Tax year subscription.



Q. How will I know what interest rate my account is earning?

A. You will be provided with details of the relevant interest rate before you open your account. Your interest rate will also be confirmed in our welcome letter to you shortly after the time of opening.

If you hold a managed rate account, where the bank can make changes to interest rates, we will notify you of changes to your accounts interest rate as follows:

  • If the change is to your advantage (increase), we will give you notice of the change either before the change comes into effect or at the earliest opportunity afterwards; or
  • If the change is to your disadvantage (decrease), we will give you notice of not less than 30 days before the change comes into effect. If you are not happy with the change you will then have a period of 60 days from the date of our notice, where you can switch or close your account. For further details on this please refer to the relevant Terms & Conditions for you.

We will not change interest rates on fixed rate accounts during their term.

You can also view the current and historic interest rates for all our accounts on our website under the Savings Accounts: Document Library.

All interest rates received on your account will be shown on any statements issued for the period covered.


Q. How can I make a withdrawal from my account?

A. For withdrawals from an Easy Access account, please use this Withdrawal/Notification form and refer to the product additional terms for further guidance on withdrawal arrangements.

For other accounts that allow withdrawals subject to notice periods, requests to fully or partially withdraw funds must be made in writing in accordance with the product’s additional terms. However, you can instigate your notice period initially by phone or email and provided your written instruction signed in line with your mandate is received to our Tonbridge Office before the end of the notice period we will carry out your wishes. Any withdraw will not be made if we are not in receipt of signed instruction at the end of any notice period. Charity Bank will only pay funds to your nominated account, that has been verified and details of which are held in our core system. It is your responsibility to inform us if you change your nominated account and provide evidence to enable us to verify it. For more details see the next FAQ.

Q. What is and how do I amend my nominated account?

A. When you open an account with us, we ask you to nominate another UK bank or building society account in your name or the name of your organisation for business accounts. This account is verified and validated either by an electronic search or by sight of a recent bank statement (dated within the last 6-months), we then refer to this account as your ‘nominated account’.

For the safety and security of your funds, Charity Bank will only pay funds to your nominated account. Also, payments into your account, including your initial deposit, will only be accepted from your nominated account.

To amend your nominated account, we shall require you to send a signed instruction, in accordance with your mandate, by post to our Tonbridge Office, confirming the details of the new UK bank or building society account that is to become your new nominated account. Once these details have been verified and validated, when shall make the amendment in our core system.


Q. How can I make my initial deposit into a new savings account?

A. Once we confirm to you by email that your account is open, you will have 14-calendar days to fund it. During this window you can make one or multiple payments by any of these methods.

  • Electronic payment from your nominated account.
  • Cheque drawn from your nominated account.

OR

  • Internal transfer of maturing funds or funds held in an existing Charity Bank account.

Once this period has ended, if your account hasn’t been funded, it will be closed, and confirmation will be issued to you by email.

We partner with NatWest as our clearing bank. As we are not a clearing bank independently, we are currently unable to offer the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service. Therefore, please take due care and diligence when making payment by electronic transfer. Your confirmation of account opening email, will provide your unique 8-digit account to be used with our sort code: 60-83-16 and you are welcome to contact us by phone: 01732 441944 or email: enquiries@chartybank.org to double-check anything.

Please always quote your application reference number* and/or surname as a payment reference and also ensure your bank correctly quotes the reference when they make a payment, otherwise it may be rejected and returned to you without interest. You'll earn interest from the business day on which the payment was received.

*If you completed your account application online, you will have been given an application reference number.


Q. How do I add additional funds to an existing savings account?

A. Should your account terms permit additional funds and subject to maximum account balances and/or annual ISA subscriptions, you can make further payment(s) from your nominated account by the following methods.

  • Electronic payment; using your unique 8-digit Charity Bank account number (this was supplied to you once your account had been opened and our sort code: 60-83-16 (Charity Bank Agency Sort code for internal clearing).
  • Cheque.
  • Regular payment by Direct Debit. Complete a mandate to allow us to claim a regular payment on the 10th of each month.

OR

  • Regular payment by Standing Order. Set up a standing order with your nominated account bank/building society directly, to allow more control of your payments.


Q. How do I notify you if I move residence or my personal details change?

A. As per our terms and conditions, that you agree to when opening your account, you need to tell us if any of your details change.

You will need to advise us of these changes in writing signed in accordance with your mandate. We will then contact you should we need anything before we amend our records.

If your details are not kept up to date, it could affect way your account is operated, delay the ability to repay funds and leave us unable to advise you of possible changes regarding your account.


Q. What happens to the funds held in my account when I die?

A. In the event of your death we will release funds once the certificate of probate is received, as instructed by your executors/solicitors. Please go to our Customer Support page for further guidance.


Q. How do we change signatories on our account?

A. For Business, CTUA (Charities, Trusts and Unincorporated Associations) and Credit Union savers, please complete our Mandate Variation Form and return to our Tonbridge Office signed in accordance with the current mandate.


Q. Are my savings protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?

Charity Bank benefits from its own banking licence and is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

A. Yes, your eligible deposits with Charity Bank are currently protected up to the £85,000 limit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. Any balances above £85,000 are not protected.

For joint accounts eligible deposits for each account holder are protected up the £85,000 FSCS limit (making a total of £170,000).

Deposits from large companies and small local authorities are covered by the FSCS deposit protection from 30 January 2017 up to the FSCS limit of £85,000.

Please refer to our Deposit Guarantee Scheme: Information Sheet

You can visit the FSCS website for more information and check whether your covered.



Q. Does Charity Bank charge any fees relating to its savings accounts?

A. Please refer to our Additional Charges and Fees sheet, for details of any potential fees that may be associated with the operation of your account.



Q. How do I contact Charity Bank?

A. You can contact us on +44 (0)1732 441944 or email enquiries@charitybank.org or our postal address is:

The Charity Bank Limited,
Fosse House,
182 High Street,
Tonbridge,
Kent TN9 1BE

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