RetireJapan

Nope, no tick boxes. I’ve opened three so far, they limit you to five.

NS&A explicitly let non residents open new accounts too, all you need is a UK bank account for funding/withdrawing to. They just launched an account paying 6.2%

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:14 pm Nope, no tick boxes. I’ve opened three so far, they limit you to five.

NS&A explicitly let non residents open new accounts too, all you need is a UK bank account for funding/withdrawing to. They just launched an account paying 6.2%

Interesting. I am toying with the idea of NS&I, but don’t have a simple way to satisfy their proof of address requirements (no driving licence and their other accepted method is a certified bank statement, not an online one). So far, the fact that my Nationwide saver is paying 3.75% has dissuaded me from the bureaucratic hassle, but 6.2% is highly attractive.

I also gave up with NS&I as Lloyds are offering 5.55% two year fixed and I couldn’t be bothered to jump through the NS&I hoopla for the small pickup. Sometimes good enough is good enough as we all have lives outside of trying to open new financial products….

But it is a decent rate for anyone who can be bothered!

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:41 pm I also gave up with NS&I as Lloyds are offering 5.55% two year fixed and I couldn’t be bothered to jump through the NS&I hoopla for the small pickup. Sometimes good enough is good enough as we all have lives outside of trying to open new financial products….

But it is a decent rate for anyone who can be bothered!

Can you do this through Lloyds internet banking?

Yes. I do it on the app on my phone.

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:14 pm NS&A explicitly let non residents open new accounts too, all you need is a UK bank account for funding/withdrawing to. They just launched an account paying 6.2%

This is good timing, thanks for mentioning it. I was about to open another one-year fixed term deposit at Conister Bank at 5.8%, but the NS&I one looks even better. Fortunately I already have accounts with both so the application shouldn't be too difficult. I've noticed that the Premium Bonds rate has gone up too, to 4.65%. Not bad at all. Must admit I'm a bit addicted to checking the Prize Checker each month to see how much I've won The instant accessibility of the Premium Bonds money makes it attractive too.

Ahh one thing I should mention on the Lloyds fixed deposits, you can get your money out with a penalty but only at a physical branch. I was wondering if it was worth paying the penalty to reinvest a TD starter last year at a higher rate this year but when I saw this couldn’t be done online I didn’t pursue it further.

Does anyone know any easy/cheap way of meeting the 'certified' document requirements?

My UK banks are either closing accounts or offering awful interest, and it's pretty much impossible to open a savings account in the UK as a non-resident.
So the NS&I seemed absolutely perfect... until I saw the proof of identity/address requirements.

If they didn't need to be 'certified' it'd be fine, but the certification requirements seem very hard to meet in Japan.

RetroNewbie wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2023 1:29 pm Does anyone know any easy/cheap way of meeting the 'certified' document requirements?

My UK banks are either closing accounts or offering awful interest, and it's pretty much impossible to open a savings account in the UK as a non-resident.
So the NS&I seemed absolutely perfect... until I saw the proof of identity/address requirements.

If they didn't need to be 'certified' it'd be fine, but the certification requirements seem very hard to meet in Japan.

I’m in a similar position, have a Nationwide account which is paying a not terrible 3.75%, but concerned they may close it. For NS&I, passport would be OK for identity but address puts me off as they require either driving licence, which I don’t have, or bank account, which seems an almighty hassle as I don’t receive paper statements and even if I got one of those it would need a lawyer to certify, which would cost. I wonder if they would accept a judicial scrivener certification instead (likely to be cheaper), but I am not particularly motivated to jump through the hoops unless and until Nationwide is no longer an option.

RetroNewbie wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2023 1:29 pm Does anyone know any easy/cheap way of meeting the 'certified' document requirements?

My UK banks are either closing accounts or offering awful interest, and it's pretty much impossible to open a savings account in the UK as a non-resident.
So the NS&I seemed absolutely perfect... until I saw the proof of identity/address requirements.

If they didn't need to be 'certified' it'd be fine, but the certification requirements seem very hard to meet in Japan.

When I was at the beginning of learning about investment, I had a consultation with AP Advisers. Whilst I didn’t use them in the end, they did say that they can certify address documents in the required format. So it might be worth contacting them.

https://www.ap-advisers.com/