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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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Ready to save smarter?
Choose a competitive product from one of our partner banks Discover our latest rates |
Smart Savings from Willis Owen is our solution to your cash savings needs. We take the hassle out of managing your cash savings by giving you access to a wide range of highly competitive savings accounts from a panel of partner banks - all through our simple, online platform.
Once you’ve registered and set up your Smart Savings Account, you can apply for and manage deposits with all of your chosen partner banks in one place. You can set up your account with £1,000 and deposit up to £85,000 with any of our partner banks.
First, use our marketplace to find the savings account that’s right for you and submit your application, pledging how much you intend to deposit.
The market for savings products is exciting and fast moving. Banks launch competitive new products when they want to raise funds and then withdraw or change rates once they've met their targets.
Next, you need to register for Smart Savings. As part of this process, we will automatically set you up a ‘Transaction Account’ in your name with our Service Bank.
Your Transaction Account will have its own account number and sort code and is the account into which you transfer money to fund your chosen savings products and, when one of your chosen savings products matures or you close an account, the account where the proceeds are paid. Once your application for Smart Savings has been approved, you can start applying for savings accounts.
Finally, transfer money from the nominated UK bank or building society account held in your sole name into your Transaction Account to fund your pledged deposit. Your application will then be sent for processing and, once accepted, your chosen product will be opened.
Once your account is open and you have successfully applied for one or more products, you can keep track of your money within our Smart Savings area where you’ll be able to view your Smart Savings Account balance and your transaction history, make top ups to easy access accounts, make withdrawals and close accounts, as well as apply for other savings products.
Willis Owen Smart Savings is powered by Raisin UK. Raisin provides the technology platform for our Smart Savings service. It also manages the relationships with our Partner Banks who make their products available through the service. Through its platform, Raisin also passes instructions to our Service Bank, Partner Banks and other parties involved in providing the service on your behalf.
Neither Raisin nor Willis Owen ever hold your money. Your money is either held in your own Transaction Account or with the banks whose savings products you’ve chosen. In some cases, your money is held for your sole benefit by a deposit administrator called Meteor Asset Management, you can find out more about their role below.
Money is transferred by you into your Transaction Account. Any withdrawals are made from your Transaction Account to your own bank account
You choose from a wide range of competitive savings products from our panel of partner banks. Once you've applied for a product, money transfers from your Transaction Account to your chosen Partner Bank. When you make a withdrawal from an easy access account, or when a savings product matures or is closed by you, the proceeds and any interest are paid back by the Partner Bank into your Transaction Account
Partner Banks hold your money and credit your account with interest according to the product terms. With some Partner Banks, your money is held in trust for your sole benefit by Meteor Asset Management.
Through our marketplace, you can access savings products from a broad range of banks, all of whom are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Many of these are smaller and so called ‘challenger’ banks, as opposed to high street names. Given their smaller scale, lower overheads and clever use of technology, these banks are often able to offer rates that are better than those you could get on the high street.
The range of partner banks and products on offer are changing all of the time and you can check out the latest offerings in our marketplace page. You can also find out more about the individual partner banks on the ‘Partner Banks’ page.
