spainrico

Wise is now paying interest on monies held in Wise accounts - OK maybe not gonna get rich but beats Sabadell and Lloyds UK who pay nothing on current account balances - the following is a cut and paste of an email they just sent me....

'You got x.xx EUR and x.xx GBP for the money you held in your balances last month.

Wise earns interest while it keeps your money safe. It is interest on your money, so we believe it’s right to share it with you. Our mission is money without borders — to make it instant, cheap, convenient and transparent. See how you can help.

How cashback is calculated

We're giving you cashback for any EUR, GBP or USD balances you held with us in December 2022. The annualised cashback rate has been calculated as 0.65% for EUR, 1.25% for GBP and 1.50% for USD you held.

Wise Europe operates within the tax jurisdiction of Belgium, where cashback is liable for 30% withholding tax. We deduct this tax before cashback is paid into your account and pay the Belgian tax authorities.

For example — if you held a balance of 1,000 GBP and a jar of 2,000 EUR for a whole month, you would receive 0.73 GBP back to your balance and 0.76 EUR into your jar. We would have already deducted 30% to pay the withholding tax for both transactions.

The annualised cashback rate is variable and may change or come to an end, depending on the amount of interest Wise earns and the costs of keeping your money safe.'


The only shame is the Belgians getting a cut (nothing xenophobic but I think you will agree)

tebo53

Thanks for that, I've not had an email yet but very interesting.

Steve

spainrico

When the €uro interest rate was minus we had to pay them for holding €uros - which I think I only paid for a month before the €uro interest rate moved up - so I asked them we paid you when are you going to pay us! and they have come good -

I just checked a Lloyds deposit account I have and that is now paying 0.5%! (it was 0.1%!)

So I think this is food for thought...

missile

Good news. Every little helps.

Incentives are back & Savings Rates are a lot better in UK > Best bank accounts: Up to £175 to switch or up to 7% interest - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

spainrico

Yes agree UK interest rates are up - but Spanish resident expats hit the problem of being unable to open UK accounts...

Lynn R

The interest I'm getting on my instant access Bonus Savings account with First Direct is a lot better than it has been for some years, but still not great. As spainrico says we as non UK residents aren't able to take advantage of the best rates currently being offered as we can't open new savings accounts. For that reason I think I'm going to open a new offshore savings account with Skipton International (based in Jersey) who offer just about the best rates around for offshore savings at the moment. I am waiting for the next BoE rate setting meeting in 2 weeks' time to see if rates increase again after that. I shall have to do a Modelo 720 declaration in early 2024 so I'm thinking if I move some money to a new account it would be best done this year then I should not need to do a new declaration the following year or thereafter, as the value of the accounts is certainly not going to increase by 20k or more in a single year.

Offshore Savings Accounts | Skipton International Ltd

Lynn R

The best rates shown for savings accounts are not much good for larger amounts as the Nationwide one is only for balances up to 1,500 pounds and the Barclays one for balances up to 5,000 pounds. My own bank (First Direct) has a Regular Saver account which is now paying 7% but the maximum amount that can be paid in each month is not very high (300 pounds a month) and it is only for one year.

missile

Very true. 7% is a loss leader headline grabber. It sounds fantastic, but in reality, the max one could earn is only circa £126. Those accounts are not great for those who have a lot of money. I guess like Sunak they will prefer a numbered account in the Cayman Islands.

FYI: For those who still have a UK address, Santander 1,2,3 account pays interest on balances up to £20,000 and Chase savings account pays 2.7% interest on unlimited amount.

Notdunroamin

You mean those who are UK resident, anything else will be deception.

missile

Whatever :-) :-) :-)

Notdunroamin

Not "whatever", fact!

High Street UK bank accounts are available to UK residents, not those who pretend to be.

I don't defend that as it goes way beyond necessary 'due diligence', and especially given the ease with which accounts can be opened by non residents in many EU countries, but it is what it is and does not excuse lying.

spainrico

I emailed Wise with positive feedback regarding this new arrangement - they replied:

'I'm happy that you're finding your experience with Wise satisfactory.

Please note that, strictly spoken, the deposits you refer to are not interest. They're more like about retroceding profit we are making through keeping the money safe back to customers. You can find detailed information on this link.

Please let us know if you need further assistance, we're happy to help.

Best,

Álvaro — Wise'

Well whatever it is - it's good news.

missile

What is your problem? Why are you being so aggressive?
You do not have to be UK resident to open a UK bank account. Residence is not a condition. Evidence of a current UK address is.
Similarly, you do not have to be resident in Spain to open an account. Residence is not a condition. Evidence of a current Spanish address is.
There are many Brits who have accounts in both UK and Spain. There are many foreign nationals who have UK bank accounts in addition to their home country.