Latest news with #HelenKirrane
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Is this Revolut email genuine? It's asking me out of the blue to confirm personal details but how can I be sure it's not a scam…
I've been receiving emails from what I think is a Revolut email asking me to confirm personal details for my account. I use the account occasionally when I go abroad. The emails tell me to click on a link to update my personal details but I am wary of it, given other banks say they will never contact you to ask for personal details or ask you to follow a link to log on to online or mobile banking. I have been receiving an email a week since April and most recently Revolut has said it will shut down my account if I don't confirm my personal details. How can I be sure it's not? Revolut sends customers emails asking them up update personal details, they contain a link to take customers to their bank account Helen Kirrane of This is Money replies: I can understand your concern, but Revolut has confirmed this is a genuine email. You told me you thought the email had all the hallmarks of a scam, with the deadline for action, a link to click, and the request for personal details. It's best to be vigilant, especially given all of the high profile cyber attacks in recent months, hitting M&S, Co-op and HMRC. Revolut says it sends emails like this periodically as part of its normal communications with customers. The email came from a Revolut email the bank uses to send out customer communications - no-reply@ The attached link in these emails, which appears in a blue box, brings customers to their Revolut app where they will be prompted to enter their details. Revolut won't ask customers to confirm or make changes to their details anywhere other than in its banking app, the link was just a way to get you there. In addition, there was an issue with the formatting on the emails you received from Revolut which may have thrown you. Revolut is looking into this. The Information Commissioners Office and Article 5 of GDPR require firms to take steps to keep customer information up to date to help prevent fraud. The financial regulator, the FCA, does not have rules on how specifically banks should keep this information updated. Not all banks send a link to direct customers to app or online banking in an email. Santander and Barclays, for example, do not ask customers to log on to online or mobile banking through a link so customers know an email is genuinely from Santander. While Lloyds Bank may send customers links to its secure app. Emails from Lloyds to customers will always include your name, and the last four digits of an account you have with it. A Revolut spokesman replies: These are genuine Revolut comms sent to customers to ensure all details are correct on their accounts, sent from our Revolut email. These are sent periodically to our customers. The attached link on the email only takes users back to their Revolut app where they will be prompted to securely their details Revolut will never ask customers to confirm or make changes to their details anywhere other than in-app The Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment. If in doubt, always check with your bank via its in chat function or telephone number, usually located on the back of your debit card.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Why did NS&I name the precise town where the most recent £1m Premium Bonds jackpot winner came from?
In the most recent Premium Bonds draw, I noticed that one of the £1million jackpot winners was from Stockport, Greater Manchester. However, I was under the impressions that usually it's the county that is named, not the exact location. Looking through the list I see Hertfordshire, Devon, Kent, Wales... but not specific large towns or cities in these areas. Why is it that Stockport is named - alongside other more specific locations like Barnet, Croydon, Norwich and Fife to name a few? Helen Kirrane, This is Money's savings reporter, replies: June's Premium Bonds £1million prize winners hailed from Stockport and Edinburgh in this month's NS&I draw. The Stockport winner was only the second ever £1million prize winner to come from the town, while the Edinburgh winner was the first £1million jackpot winner from the Scottish capital in eight years. But why was Stockport reported as the location of one of the £1million winners but the other £1million prize winner's location was reported as the city of Edinburgh which is a local authority? Other high value prize winners this month were reported as coming from even broader areas like West Midlands, as in the case of a £100,000 prize winner who won with a holding of £2,000. The answer comes down to the way NS&I reports the location of prize winners. NS&I sets rules when announcing the location of prize winners to protect identities. Each customer is assigned to a town, local authority, county or government standard region and country. When a winner is assigned to a town with less than 100,000 account holders, NS&I use the hierarchy below until it finds a level where that area has at least 100,000 Premium Bonds holders. These are: Level 1 Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) Town (like Blackpool); Level 2 County or Local Authority (like Lancashire); Level 3 Government Standard Region (like North West); Level 4 Country (like Wales). Stockport falls into the bracket of place with more than 100,000 Premium Bond holders - the borough population is just shy of 300,000, which suggests at least one in three Stopfordians hold the popular products. The local authority of Stockport had 105,484 Premium Bonds holders in the June 2025 draw, according to NS&I so it was able to report the precise area the winner was from. A spokesman from NS&I says: 'Each month NS&I publishes a full list of prizes won including the winning bond number, size of holding and the location of the Bond holder. 'However, to protect the identity of individual Premium Bonds's holders we identify the location based on at least 100,000 bond holders living in the area. This could be the town or city, county or local authority, government Standard region or country.' With this month's £1million winners, there are at least 100,000 Premium Bonds holders living in Stockport. Whereas the winner from Edinburgh will come from an area with fewer than 100,000 holders and so the county or local authority area is used. Different rules for reporting Premium Bonds winners from overseas apply. For Premium Bonds holders living outside the UK, NS&I only publishes the country when there are at least 100,000 holders living there. Otherwise, they publish the area as 'overseas'. For this reason, you will never see a Premium Bond's winner listed as being from the The Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, as they fall into this bracket. Guernsey has just over 19,000 Premium Bonds holders and Jersey just over 29,000 – taken together, this is far less than 100,000 Premium Bonds holders, so NS&I would not report this as Channel Islands. The default for reporting a winner from one of these areas would be 'overseas'.
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
My child has a Nationwide savings account, why didn't they get a £100 Fairer Share bonus?
When the Nationwide Fairer Share payment was announced I was disappointed to find my child, who holds a Nationwide Junior Isa, did not receive a £100 payment. The Junior Isa is open in their own name, not mine and has a balance of more than £100 in it. Am I missing something and why did they not receive it? Helen Kirrane, of This is Money, replies: Nationwide's 2025 Fairer Share deal was the building society's biggest yet. Nationwide dished out £400million to 4million members, who will each receive a payment of £100 between 18 June and 4 July. With 16million members, that means a quarter of Nationwide's members banked the payment But this still means three quarters missed out, because Nationwide had strict eligibility criteria as to who would be eligible for Generally to be eligible for the Fairer Share deal, members needed to have a qualifying Nationwide current account open on 31 March 2025. They then needed to have either a Nationwide savings account with at least £100 in it on any day at the end of March, or £100 left on a Nationwide residential mortgage on 31 March. Children were not exempt from receiving a £100 Fairer Share payment if they had the right savings account, one in their name, and a current account. Nationwide told me Junior Isas do qualify. As these are held in an account in the name of a child, the money will count towards the child's qualifying savings. To get expert advice as to why your child didn't qualify for this year's £100 Fairer Share payment, we spoke to Andrew Hagger, founder of personal website Money Comms and James Blower, founder of savings website the Savings Guru. Andrew Hagger said: The Nationwide Fairer Share terms and conditions state that a qualifying current account must be held together with either a savings account or mortgage. If a child has a Nationwide Junior Cash Isa in their name - not in the parents name for the benefit of the child - and also a Nationwide FlexOne Account, the current account for children 11-17 years of age, then they would qualify. In addition, they would only qualify if they made a payment into or out of the FlexOne account during March 2025 and also the Junior Isa must have had a balance of at least £100 on any one day during March 2025. The rules for the payout are very specific and unfortunately some customers will feel aggrieved, because they consider themselves a loyal customer, but didn't qualify and so have missed out on the Fairer Share payment. James Blower said: Nationwide's Fairer Share scheme pays out £100 to qualifying members. It did so in 2024 and its latest results, announced earlier this week, confirm that it will be doing so in 2025. The bonus is paid to members who hold a qualifying savings or mortgage account but crucially, they must also hold a qualifying current account. The reason for this is because I suspect that Nationwide wants to limit the payment to members who are more engaged with the mutual than those who merely have the odd savings or mortgage product with them – perhaps one that they may not even be aware of, because they've gone via an adviser. In the case of Junior Isas, the qualification is to also hold the qualifying children's current account too. Your reader's child has missed out because they didn't also hold this account by the qualification date, which was 31 March, as it was last year. My advice to any Nationwide members who did not qualify this year is, if they intend to stay a member, open the qualifying current account needed. Nationwide are encouraging members to switch their current account to them too – offering £200 bonus to customer who move over. This is well worth considering. Nationwide members have already received £50 for the Virgin Money takeover this year – so some members could benefit from £350 in cash this year with that bonus, Fairer Share and the £200 incentive. Certainly worth considering
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
My cash Isa rate has already dropped to 4.35% - should I find a better Isa?
Products featured in this article are independently selected by This is Money's specialist journalists. If you open an account using links which have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence. I opened a cash Isa with Trading 212 in October 2024 - at the time it was offering 5.1 per cent interest. I've noticed the rate I'm getting is now 4.35 per cent though. I checked and I did receive notifications about the rate falling but didn't notice it gradually sinking. I can see that it is currently offering a 4.83 per cent rate, but that's only for new customers earning a 0.73 per cent bonus for a year. I like how easy Trading 212 is to use, and the fact that I can quickly withdraw money and put it back in without having to worry about wasting my Isa allowance. But is it time to move to a better Isa? If so, which one should I choose to still get all the features I like but with a better rate? Helen Kirrane of This is Money replies: Cash Isa providers in recent months have battled for customers by launching rates - often with short-term bonuses - to propel them up the best buy charts. Currently, the battle is not as intense as it was in March and April, but there are still two clear best buys in our independent best buy tables using this approach, from CMC Invest and Moneybox. Meanwhile, while these providers have hooked in new customers, existing ones have potentially seen rates slip already. Those who keep cash in easy-access accounts and Isas are most at risk of rate cuts since the Bank of England lowered the base rate to 4.25 per cent last week . Many of the top cash Isas at the moment have one drawback or another - whether it's rate cuts for making more than three withdrawals or large bonus rates that drop off after a few months. Moneybox's cash Isa offers 5.71 per cent - the highest rate around - but this includes a 1.51 per cent bonus for three months. It also only lets you withdraw money three times with 12 months or the rate will drop to 0.75 per cent. CMC Invest's easy-access Isa* is the best option for you to consider if you want to move, as long as you don't mind the rate falling after three months when the bonus wears off. It is offering a 5.7 per cent rate but this includes a 0.85 per cent bonus for three months. After that, the rate will revert to 4.85 per cent. It is flexible and has allows you to make as many withdrawals as you like without penalising you with a rate cut, which are two features you said you want to keep in an Isa. If you are willing to sacrifice flexibility as a feature and withdrawals are more important to you, Tembo's easy-access Isa pays 4.81 per cent. The average easy-access Isa currently pays 3.01 per cent, according to rates scrutineer Moneyfacts Compare. At 4.35 per cent, the rate Trading 212's easy-access Isa* pays is significantly higher and nothing to be sniffed at. It also has a lot going for it in that it is a flexible Isa and has unlimited free withdrawals - and there is no guarantee the rates mentioned above won't also be chopped and changed for existing customers. Andrew Hagger, founder of website MoneyComms, said: Unfortunately savings and Isa rates are falling and are likely to continue this trajectory for the remainder of 2025. However, even though your rate has fallen to 4.35 per cent, it's still an excellent rate considering that the account offers the flexible Isa feature, something that you won't find with the current higher rate Isa deals from Plum and Tembo. If you're not concerned whether you have the flexible Isa option then perhaps consider a move to Plum or Tembo, but if flexibility is a 'must have' for you, I'd be tempted to stick with Trading 212.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Should I max out my cash Isa NOW in case the £20,000 allowance is cut?
In a typical year, I use roughly 75 per cent of my £20,000 tax-free Isa allowance to invest in stocks and shares, and the rest in cash. I've now heard the cash Isa allowance might be reduced. If it was hypothetically cut to £4,000 in April 2026, it wouldn't really change much of my current strategy. However, this feels like a last chance to max out the cash element of an Isa and given the recent market turmoil, I might just stick the full £20,000 into cash now. Is that a sensible move? Helen Kirrane of This is Money replies: You're not the only one to wonder whether it's time to fill your cash Isa to the limit. Fuelled by rumours of cash Isa allowance cuts in the run up to the Spring Statement, savers poured over £4billion into cash Isas in the month of March alone. In the Spring Statement document it was revealed the Government was considering making reforms to cash Isas, after weeks of speculation - though nothing is set in stone. Among the reforms suggested were cutting the £20,000 allowance for cash Isas, while allowing savers to maintain that limit if they invested in stocks and shares. A £4,000 limit for cash Isas has been speculated in recent months. Record numbers of investors have also turned to cash Isas as a safe haven for their nest eggs amid economic turmoil in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariff war. We spoke to three financial experts for advice on whether you should follow the herd and redirect your investments to a cash Isa. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown replies: It would be unwise to let speculation over future government policy disrupt your long-term financial planning. Despite the rumours over changes to cash Isas, none have yet materialised, and any tweaks would have to follow a government consultation. If you have already built up an emergency savings pot of three to six months essential expenditure, and don't need to spend money you have set aside within the next five years, it's really still worth looking at investing at least some of the money in a stocks and shares Isa. History has shown that over the long term there's a better chance of beating inflation by investing in the stock market or funds compared to leaving money in a savings account. The recent market volatility may have been concerning, but drip feeding your stocks and shares Isa can enable you to ride out the ups and downs in the market. For peace of mind, you could still consider splitting your allocation between a cash Isa and a stocks and shares Isa and there are currently some good deals on offer in the savings market. As competition heated up over tax year end, the rates on offer remained relatively elevated but this is now starting to change. Rates fell back a little during the month, which isn't surprising given more interest rate cuts have been priced in this year. Given that markets now expect multiple rate cuts in 2025, it's worth bearing in mind that fixed rate deals above 4 per cent may not be around by the end of the year. Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell replies: Firstly well done on having a saving and investing strategy, that's a great start. I think the main thing is to trust in that plan and not deviate from it just because of rumours that the Government might change the rules. We don't know what the Government will do when it comes to Isas – or indeed if they will do anything. It's also worth noting that they are unlikely to implement the changes immediately, which would give people a window to take action if they needed to. But based on your plan above you've determined you only need around £5,000 a year to be saved into cash, and don't need higher cash levels than this. It would feel counterintuitive to start stuffing your cash Isa just because you're worried the allowances may change. While cash is a great place for money you need in the short term or money you don't want to take any risk with, it's not ideal for long-term savings. You should look at your cash pot and work out if it's sufficient for your emergency pot and your short-term spending goals, like house renovations, moving home in the next few years, your children's education, or even a big holiday or new car. You might find, like many people do, that they are unintentionally hoarding too much in cash that could be earning a potentially higher return in investment markets. You can then assess your longer-term investment goals and work out whether you're on track to reach them with your investment portfolio. That might include a longer-term house move, early retirement, setting aside money for kids or something else on the horizon. Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfacts Compare replies: It is a worthy debate on whether to invest in cash or stocks and shares, and for any individual it comes down to how long they are looking to invest in either element. Investing in cash is popular, but over the longer-term, stocks are typically expected to weather most storms and can beat pure interest over time. It is understandable for savers to be concerned of the potential limits on cash Isas to be cut, but those who want to max it out can move subscriptions into stocks and shares from cash later. It may be more convenient to just put funds from a stocks and shares Isa into a cash fund, which are at the lower end of the risk spectrum, but usually this is only done temporarily during period of market turmoil. A cash Isa on the other hand can offer different options, from easy access, notice, to fixed, the latter providing a clear guaranteed return on any investment, and of course, safe return of the original capital. Any investment in a stocks and shares Isa is at risk of turmoil, so it's important to monitor them carefully. If you are prepared to make a clear list and actively manage a portfolio, it can be smoother to move around pots to take advantage of stock market boons, but also to be more risk adverse. However, it is usually wise for savers to avoid pulling out of stocks in the aftermath of significant falls, because they then can not benefit from rises once the markets improve.
