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Cash interest explained |
You will receive interest on balances in your platform cash account at the prevailing rate.
Embark Investment Services Limited acts as the custodian for investments on the Willis Owen platform and is one of our strategic partners that provides our Willis Owen ISA, GIA, Junior ISA and SIPP.
Embark places cash with a number of banking partners for safekeeping and to provide the potential for you to earn interest on money in your platform cash account. By managing cash in this way, it aims to provide better protection and a higher overall level of interest than if all funds were placed with a single bank.
The rates of interest paid by banks will vary. Embark retains a portion of the interest earned to cover its costs in managing platform cash.
Current Interest Rate
The table below shows the current customer interest rate payable on cash balances along with the amount of interest retained by Embark. The customer interest rate shown is that after accounting for interest retained by Embark:
| Date From | Customer Interest Rate | Interest retained by Embark |
|---|---|---|
| 25th March 2024 | 2.46% | 1.75% - 2.00% |
Embark can change the rate of interest at any time and it reviews the position at least quarterly. Interest is calculated and accrued daily and is credited to your account on the first of each month. If you transfer out, accrued interest is applied at the point of transfer. We will inform you if and when the interest rate changes as soon as is practicable.
Interest retained
The table below shows the yearly equivalent rates of interest Embark expects to pay based on a range of possible yearly interest rates it may earn.
| Interest Embark expects to earn | Customer Interest Rate | Interest retained by Embark |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1% | 0 – 0.46% | 0 – 0.54% |
| 1-2% | 0.46% – 0.94% | 0.54% – 1.06% |
| 2-3% | 0.94% – 1.46% | 1.06% – 1.54% |
| 3-4% | 1.46% – 2.02% | 1.54% – 1.98% |
| 4-5% | 2.02% – 2.61% | 1.98% – 2.39% |
| 5%+ | 2.61%+ | 2.39%+ |
Historic Interest Rates
To see details of historic customer interest rates, along with the amount of interest retained by Embark, click here.
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Once you’ve successfully opened your Smart Savings Account, you’ll have access to the Smart Savings area where you’ll find everything you need to manage your cash deposits.
In the top right hand corner of the screen you’ll see how much cash is available in your Transaction Account to fund your chosen savings products or to withdraw. You’ll also see the account number and sort code for your Transaction Account, which you’ll need when transferring-in money to fund your chosen products.
You’ll also see details of your active products and those which are ‘unfunded’ (waiting for you to transfer money into your Transaction Account in order to fund them).
As well as this, you’ll also find a link to our marketplace, where you can browse all of the accounts on offer and choose the one that’s right for you. You’ll also be able to view all of the transactions relating to your account and to your chosen products so you can keep track of where all your money is.
Transferring money into your Smart Savings Transaction Account to fund your deposits is easy. Simply transfer money from your nominated bank or building society account in your sole name into your Transaction Account, using its own unique account number and sort code. You can only transfer money using the ‘Faster Payments’ transfer method. We can’t accept transfers by BACS or CHAPS at the moment, nor can we accept cash or cheques. Please be aware that it can take up to three business days for deposited money to appear in your Smart Savings account.
You can apply for a product with money you already hold in your Transaction Account or you can apply for the product first by ‘pledging’ an amount and then transfer money in later to fund your product.
If you apply for a product before transferring money into your Transaction Account, your account will show a status of ‘awaiting funding’. Once your Transaction Account contains enough money to cover a pledged deposit, your application will be submitted to your chosen partner bank. If you’ve applied for a number of products, they’ll be funded chronologically as you transfer money to your Transaction Account.
Each fixed term or notice account has a ‘funding window’ – the amount of time you have to fund the account following your application. You can find out what the funding window for each product within our marketplace is by looking at the associated product details. If you don’t fund an account within the funding window, your application will expire. Any deposits received after the funding window elapses will remain in your Smart Savings Account until you decide what to do with them.
If you want to make a withdrawal of available funds held in your Smart Savings transaction account, you can do so through your account by selecting the ‘withdrawal’ option. You’ll then be shown the bank/building society details of your nominated personal account, into which any withdrawals will be made, and a box to enter the amount you want to withdraw. You won’t be able to withdraw any amounts you’ve already pledged for the opening of another product.
If you have an Easy Access account, you can make withdrawals from that account to the Transaction Account from which you’ll be able to withdraw your money as set out above.
