Latest news with #NSI
Daily Mail
a day 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'.
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Aaron-Soh enter fray in Indonesia with tired bodies but willing minds
PETALING JAYA: The body is tired but Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are not worn to a frazzle yet. In fact, it will be all about mind over matter when the former world champions get into action in their fourth tournament in a month in the Indonesian Open starting today at Istora Senayan in Jakarta. 'We are feeling the effects of playing in three tournaments in a row, the body is tired but our job is far from over,' said Aaron. 'We want to stay focused on the Indonesian Open first and then, we can have a short break.' Aaron-Wooi Yik have been on their toes since last month but they are not complaining as they have done extremely well to reach the finals of three straight tournaments. On Sunday, the reigning Asian champions stood solid to beat tough opponents and All-England champions Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea to lift the Singapore Open title. They had earlier won the Thailand Open two weeks ago and finished runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters last week. They hope to keep the momentum going when they take on Denmark's Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in the first round today and go after the US$107,300 set aside for the champions. The world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik have a 3-1 record against the Danes and should progress to face the winners of the match between Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana of Indonesia and India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Added Aaron: 'Our coach (Herry Iman Pierngadi) has told us to be confident and believe in ourselves, and it's all falling into place. ''The goal is to continue to be consistent and trust each other.' The draw, however, is not so favourable for the Malaysians as four other pairs are lumped into the same half with Aaron-Wooi Yik and they are top seeds Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Wei Chong-Kai Wun, Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong and Wan Junaidi Wan Arif-Yap Roy King. In the second half with second seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Anderson of Denmark are Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi. Malaysia have not won the men's doubles title in the Super 1000 since Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif won in 2008. Wei Chong-Kai Wun, however, pulled off a surprise by winning the lower-tier Indonesian Masters in January. Meanwhile, national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky was all smiles that things were falling into place in his department. 'There is a healthy environment in the national training set-up right now with both singles and doubles working together as a unit,' said Rexy, who engineered the move to bring his mentor and coach Herry Iman Pierngadi to Malaysia this year. 'The BAM management are giving full support and we are benefiting from the services provided by sports science experts from NSI (National Sports Insitute) and NSC (National Sports Council). 'All these enable us to work in a solid way. I'm so grateful to see these positive changes and results too from our players.''
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
NS&I paid out £4k to wrong person
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) mistakenly paid out £4,300 to a grieving man after mixing up two accounts with the same name and birthday. The recipient, known only as Mr S, was sent the cash after the death of a loved one, only for NS&I to realise it belonged to someone else and demand it back. He was offered £350 in redress, but complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service after it caused him a 'significant amount of stress at a difficult time'. The situation began after a woman, known as Ms S, passed away. As her sole beneficiary and the co-executor of her estate, Mr S discovered she had a premium bonds certificate. He contacted NS&I with copies of her will and certificates showing her birth, marriage and death, requesting to transfer the money to his own premium bond account. When NS&I responded, it confirmed another £4,300 in bonds were held in her name and sent the funds in December 2023. The bank had not realised the money belonged to another Ms S with the same first name, surname and date of birth. After uncovering the error three months later, the bank demanded that the money be returned.
New Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
NSI will continue to power Pocket Rocketman
KUALA LUMPUR: The Pocket Rocketman will continue to be "fuelled" by the National Sports Institute (NSI). Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, who is now a professional track cyclist, will receive financial backing from NSI when representing Malaysia at major multi-sport events. NSI chief executive officer Dr P. Vellapandian said that the 2017 keirin world champion remains eligible for support from NSI though he is no longer part of the national programme. "We will continue to support Azizulhasni as a professional rider, but there are a few considerations," said Vellapandian today. "He will receive the same level of support he had as a national team member only when he represents Malaysia at major multi-sport events, such as the Asian Games. "If he competes in tournaments outside the National Sports Council's (NSC) programme, we will discuss with national cycling technical director, John Beasley, and Azizulhasni himself to assess his requirements. "We will not deny him assistance simply because he has turned professional. Our support will depend on the feedback we receive from them." Azizulhasni, 37, had planned to retire from track cycling following the Paris Olympics. However, his failure to win gold after being disqualified in the first round for overtaking the derny reignited his ambition to continue racing. Last month, he announced that he would train and compete independently as a professional cyclist.
New Straits Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
'Train the brain': Ex-NSI expert urges shuttlers to prioritise mental training
KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttlers must undergo consistent psychological training alongside physical preparation if they are to reach peak performance, says former National Sports Institute (NSI) sports psychologist Philip Lew. Philip, now working with eSports outfit Selangor Red Giants, was seconded to the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) from May 2003 to October 2023, where he worked closely with players under the Road to Gold (RTG) programme. He stressed that mental strength must be developed through regular, structured sessions — not quick-fix solutions. "The brain is like a muscle. You have to train it consistently to strengthen it," said the 35-year-old. "You can't just run a short camp before a tournament and expect players to be mentally ready. It doesn't work like that." Malaysia suffered a disappointing outing at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships in Qingdao, China, in February, failing to progress beyond the group stage. Following the tournament, BA of Malaysia (BAM) acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam ordered a performance review. Based on coaches' feedback, BAM requested a full-time NSI psychologist to be stationed at ABM. Philip welcomed the move and said it could mark a turning point for the national squad. "I understand BAM has secured a full-time psychologist from NSI. It'll take time for players to build trust, but it's definitely a step in the right direction," he told Timesport. "Having someone based at ABM means the players have immediate access to support without needing to travel to Bukit Jalil." He urged players to fully utilise the psychological services but cautioned against expecting instant results. "It's not a magic pill. Many elements affect performance — mental strength is just one part of a bigger picture." Philip also weighed in on criticism over the decision to field Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik against Japan's Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the final Group C clash at the recent Sudirman Cup. Malaysia lost the match, allowing Japan to top the group and forcing Malaysia into a tougher quarter-final tie. Malaysia lost 3-0 to eventual champions China in the last eight in Xiamen. "There's always pressure on coaches and players to make the right call," he said. "Aaron-Wooi Yik have a poor record against that Japanese pair. But if Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani had played and lost, people would ask why the reigning Asian champions weren't picked." He also highlighted the pair's resilience at the Paris Olympics, where they staged a dramatic comeback to win the men's doubles bronze. "After that match, everyone praised their mental toughness. But now, after one defeat, they're being labelled mentally weak. It's never that simple — mental preparation is just one component of overall performance."
