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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.

Partner banks

Find out more below about the banks whose products we make available through the Smart Savings marketplace.

Bank Country Deposit Protection Details
Aldermore Bank
Aldermore Bank
FSCS
Max £85,000
Established in 2009, Aldermore Group PLC provides financial products to businesses and individuals.
Through their core values of being reliable, expert, dynamic and straightforward, Aldermore aims to deliver banking as it should be. In addition to dedicated online banking solutions and phone services, Aldermore has a network of UK offices.
In March 2018, Aldermore became part of FirstRand Group.
Brown Shipley
Brown Shipley
United Kingdom FSCS
Max £85,000
Founded in 1810, Brown Shipley is a UK authorised private bank with over 200 years of experience, and is regulated by both the PRA and FCA. Brown Shipley is headquartered in London with offices in seven other UK cities, offering fully integrated wealth planning, investment management and banking services. Brown Shipley is owned by Quintet Private Bank, and is part of a group of boutique private banks and wealth managers operating across over 50 European cities.
Being part of Quintet expands their scale and security and adds a truly global outlook to already strong foundations. All eligible deposits made into Brown Shipley bank accounts are protected by the FSCS up to a total of £85,000 per individual.
FCMB Bank UK Limited
FCMB Bank UK Limited
United Kingdom FSCS
Max £85,000
FCMB Bank (UK) Limited, is a UK Bank authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA.
FCMB (UK) Limited is an independently incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary of First City Monument bank Ltd, a member of the FCMB Group PLC, a leading financial services group based in Nigeria. In 2013 FCMB Bank(UK) Limited commenced wholesale deposit taking activities, offering a wide range of products including foreign exchange, treasury and corporate banking.
In 2018, FCMB Bank (UK) Limited expanded its proposition to include Personal and Business Banking. FCMB Bank (UK) Limited focus is to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction whilst delivering a sustainable, profitable business with integrity, honesty and respect.
Gatehouse Bank
Gatehouse Bank
FSCS
Max £85,000
Established in 2009, Aldermore Group PLC provides financial products to businesses and individuals.
Through their core values of being reliable, expert, dynamic and straightforward, Aldermore aims to deliver banking as it should be. In addition to dedicated online banking solutions and phone services, Aldermore has a network of UK offices.
In March 2018, Aldermore became part of FirstRand Group.
ICICI Bank (UK)
ICICI Bank (UK)
FSCS
Max £85,000
ICICI Bank UK plc was established in the UK in 2003 and offers a range of personal, business, corporate and investment banking services in the UK and Europe.
ICICI Bank UK plc is part of ICICI Bank Limited, which has over 60 years of experience in finance and a presence in 17 countries.
Oak North Bank
Oak North Bank
FSCS
Max £85,000
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth Bank is the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, providing loans of £500k to £50m to the “Missing Middle” – high-growth businesses which are the most significant contributors of economic and employment growth, yet still struggle to access fast, flexible debt finance.
To date, the bank has lent several billion pounds to hundreds of businesses across the UK who have collectively gone on to create tens of thousands of new homes and jobs across the country.
OakNorth Bank’s lending is supported by its range of Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)-protected savings accounts, available to savers at all stages of life.
Paragon Bank GBR
Paragon Bank GBR
United Kingdom FSCS
Max £85,000
Paragon Bank PLC is a subsidiary of the Paragon Banking group PLC which is a FTSE 250 company based in Solihull in the West Midlands.
Established in 1985, Paragon Banking Group PLC has over £13 billion assets under management and manages over 450,000 customer accounts.
QIB Bank GBR
QIB Bank GBR
United Kingdom FSCS
Max £85,000
Headquartered in London, QIB (UK) Plc provides private banking services and structured real estate financing in the UK, as well as a range of personal savings products, and has been fully authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s statutory deposit guarantee scheme, protects all eligible deposits offered by QIB (UK) Plc through the savings marketplace.
Teachers Building Society GBR
Teachers Building Society GBR
United Kingdom FSCS
Max £85,000
Teachers Building Society was founded in 1966 by the National Union of Teachers (now the National Education Union) to help teachers and other education professionals onto the property ladder and provide a safe haven for their savings.
Today, the Teachers Building Society offers a wide range of mortgage options to teaching professionals as well as a variety of competitive savings options which are available to all. As a mutual organisation, Teachers Building Society is run solely for the benefit of their members, rather than shareholders.
This means that instead of paying dividends to shareholders, they invest their profits back into the products and services they offer, ensuring that their mortgage and savings rates are as competitive as possible. The FSCS protects deposits made into savings accounts offered by Teachers Building Society through our marketplace, and Teachers Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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