Personal Savings from Standard Life Bank - Frequently Asked Questions

A Child Account must be opened in the name of an adult who is the account holder. Once the child reaches 16, we can only transfer the Child Account into the name of the former child if the account holder tells us to. ISAs are not available as joint accounts.

Are there any charges to operate these accounts?
With our Direct Access Savings Account, there are no charges for normal transactions. All deposits and withdrawals are free, and there is no limit to the number of withdrawals that can be done on an account. In addition, interim statements can be requested at any time at no extra charge.

For our 50 Day Notice Account, there are no charges if the notice period is adhered to. Your client will be charged a penalty of 50 days' notice on the amount withdrawn if they do not give us 50 clear days' notice of withdrawal. This penalty will be deducted from the remaining balance in their account. There is no limit to the number of withdrawals that your client can request. In addition, interim statements can be requested at any time free of charge.

Charges will be made for any cheques that are not honoured, failed direct debit mandates, withdrawals made within the notice period and Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) transfers.

How secure is my client's money?
Your client's account is easy to access and yet incredibly secure. When we open an account for your client, we will ask them to choose a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and password to access to their account(s) on the telephone. It's important to remember that they should not divulge their PIN and password to anyone. When your client rings us to transact on their account they will be asked for a random number from their PIN and a character from their password.

If your client wishes to transact on their accounts via the internet, they can register online and we will send them a UserId and temporary internet password in the post.

If they transact online, they will have the reassurance that we use the latest security technology - your client will be asked for their UserId and internet password when they log on. The first time your client logs on, they can change their temporary internet password to a permanent one of their choice. Remember, it is important that your client does not divulge their UserId or internet password to anyone, not even our staff. And in case they forget to log off or if your client hasn't used their mouse or keypad for a few minutes, the system will automatically log your client off.

As with all Standard Life Bank products, our security functions have been stringently tested. Data is scrambled to ensure privacy and we use 128 bit SSL encryption to securely encode and decode the data flowing between their PC and our server.

How does my client make deposits and withdrawals to their Standard Life Bank account?
Once your client has opened an account they will be asked to provide details of their existing bank or building society account. This account will be used for all transactions to and from your client's Standard Life Bank account and is referred to as their designated external account. It's simple to withdraw or deposit money. Your client has two options:

* Online Banking
To make withdrawals or deposits over the Internet, your client can register with us at www.standardlifebank.com for our Online Banking facilities. Once your client has registered online we will send them their UserId and internet password by post.

Alternatively, your client can call us on 0845 755 5667 to register. Your client can use their UserId and internet password to carry out transactions on their accounts during our online banking hours (Monday to Friday 5am-2am, Saturday 5am-11pm and Sunday 7am-2am).

* Telephone banking
Your client can call us Mon - Fri : 8am - 6pm, Sat : closed, Sun : closed . They will be asked for a random number from their PIN and a character from their password. Money can be transferred easily from your client's designated external account into their Standard Life Bank account. Your client can make regular payments into their Direct Access Savings Account or 50 Day Notice Account by Direct Debit.

Money withdrawn from your client's Direct Access Savings Account or 50 Day Notice Account will be paid into their designated external account. The process will normally take 3 working days but your client will receive interest right up until the money is in their designated external account.

What is pooling?
Pooling allows your client to link together more than one account within a Savings Plan (either on their own or with up to five members of family and friends) to take extra advantage of our interest rates. Interest is paid on each individual account at the rate which applies to the total balance of all the accounts held in the Savings Plan. As many as 99 accounts can be pooled within a Plan with up to five other people. In addition, your client can have five children named in their Plan.

For example, six people agree that they will pool together in the same Plan. Each deposits £2,000 into a Direct Access Savings Account. Despite the fact that individually they only have £2,000 in their accounts, they will all get paid interest at the rate which applies to the £12,000 tier. Importantly each account remains completely private. Each account holder still has their own PIN and password and receives their own separate statements, but simply by pooling together everybody in the Plan benefits from a higher rate of interest.

If your client wants to add another person to their existing plan, they will need to call us so that we can take them through their security. Your client will then need to give us all the details of the new person to be added. This is the only time that they will talk on their behalf, the new person will then be sent their own security once their own new account is set up.

Please note however, that your client can only pool accounts with the same notice period - your client can't pool 50 Day Notice Accounts with Direct Access Savings Accounts.

How and when is interest paid?
Interest can be paid monthly or yearly by either:

For personal savings, all the interest will be paid net for UK tax-payers except for ISA accounts where interest is paid gross. If your client is exempt from tax we will send them the necessary documentation to complete and all your client's interest will be paid gross.

If your client already holds a Standard Life Bank account and has registered with us to use Online Banking facilities, then they can browse through their account during online banking hours (Monday to Friday 5am-2am, Saturday 5am-11pm and Sunday 7am-2am) and see how much interest they have.

When will my client receive statements?
We will normally send your client statements every 3 months but they can request them monthly (at no extra charge), half-yearly or yearly. If they already hold a Standard Life Bank account and have registered with us to use our Online Banking facilities, they can view recent transactions on their account any time between Monday to Friday 5am-2am, Saturday 5am-11pm and Sunday 7am-2am. If they have access to print facilities they can also print out their statement.

How do I open an account on my client's behalf?
* Online
Once your client's account is fully set up and they have returned all of their documentation, they can then register with us for Online Banking facilities. This facility is only available if your client is opening their first account, if your client would like to register for online banking for an additional account please follow the telephone banking instructions below.

* Telephone
You can call us on 0845 755 5661 For both internet and telephone applications, please have the following details to hand:

Once we have taken your client's details we will send them out a Welcome Pack which contains Terms & Conditions and a Direct Debit Mandate. If you have added other people to your client's Savings Plan, they will each receive their own Welcome Pack.

We'll ask to see two forms of identity. For security reasons we ask your client to choose a PIN number and a password. Any time they want to make a transaction, we'll ask them to tell us a random number from their PIN and a character from their password. That's as complicated as it gets.

What happens in the event of a relationship breakdown between joint account holders?
In the event of a dispute or relationship breakdown between joint account holders, one of the account holders should contact us. When we become aware of a dispute or relationship breakdown we may freeze the account so that no further transactions can be made. We will do so until we receive further written instruction from both account holders.

How do I get more information?
If you still have a query, just phone us on 0845 755 5661, where one of our telephone banking operators will be happy to help you. Our lines are open:
Mon - Fri : 8am - 6pm
Sat : closed
Sun : closed