One personal and business bank account provider has recently created a new way for its customers to apply for ISAs online, thanks to its partnership with Sandstone, an Australia-based web banking solutions provider.
Metro Bank’s new online banking service, which will employ the use of CallCredit to provide credit checking and verification data, will be made available for savers this coming April, just in time for them to capitalise upon the new ISA allowance. The tax-free savings accounts are having their caps raised to a maximum of £5,640 in both stocks and shares ISAs and cash ISAs as well, with the saver reserving the option of depositing the entire £11,280 into a stocks and shares savings product.
The new ‘BankFast Apply’ platform from Metro Bank will permit immediate customer applications online. The service will make use of checks designed to identify savers and weed out money laundering scams electronically in order to expedite ISA applications, said Paul Marriott-Clarke, managing director for the financial services provider. Mr Marriot-Clarke also said that Metro Bank wanted to extend its offerings into the online marketplace while also building on its customer service reputation in a way that would permit both new and existing customers to apply for ISAs in a quick and convenient manner.
The bank has been critical of other banks using so-called ‘teaser’ rates to draw customers to take out ISAs. Many savers lose out once this introductory bonus rate falls off the account, leaving them with a paltry rate of return, and Metro Bank condemned the practice as both misleading and dishonest.
Launched just two years ago with four locations in london, Metro Bank has since grown to 10 locations across the capital, and has pledged to hit a target of 200 branches by the end of the decade.