How it works

The NS&I Direct Saver provides a secure home for your savings with the added convenience of being managed online and by phone.

What’s more, as NS&I is backed by HM Treasury, you can rest assured that your savings are completely secure.

NS&I – 100% security for your money

At National Savings and Investments, we’ve helped savers look after their money for nearly 150 years. Today almost 27 million people entrust their savings with us. They’re safe in the knowledge that all their money invested with NS&I is backed by HM Treasury, giving you 100% security for your money. All guaranteed – no matter how many accounts or bonds or how much invested.

Who’s it for?

NS&I Direct Saver is designed for people who want an easy, hassle-free way of managing their savings. The minimum age to open an account, either individually or jointly with one other person, is 16.

If you open a joint NS&I Direct Saver account with one other person, you will both have your own individual passwords, and both of you will be able to pay money in and take money out of the account independently.

How to apply

Opening an account is quick, easy and secure. You can apply either online or by calling our UK customer service team on 0500 500 000 between 7am and midnight. Please have your debit card ready. The card must be in your own name and issued by a UK bank. You can open an account with as little as £1.

Transferring from an Easy Access Savings Account to a Direct Saver

If you currently have an NS&I Easy Access Savings Account, you can transfer to an NS&I Direct Saver easily. All you need to do is complete and sign the transfer form and return it to us – you can print the form by following the link below. Once we receive your completed form, we will close your Easy Access Savings Account, transfer your balance across and send you a closing statement. We’ll then open your new Direct Saver and write to confirm the details.

You will also receive a temporary password (if you don’t already have one) that you will need to change to one of your own choice either online or by phone before you can start managing your account.

If you have more than one Easy Access Savings Account in your name, we will combine the balances into one Direct Saver unless you tell us otherwise. If you do not want this, please complete a form for each account you wish to transfer.

Application to transfer from an NS&I Easy Access Savings Account to an NS&I Direct Saver

How to make deposits and withdrawals

Once your account is open, you can save regularly by setting up a standing order from your nominated bank account. You can also make deposits at any time, either with your debit card or by electronic transfer. Some financial service providers do restrict outgoing BACS payments above a certain value for security reasons. If you encounter this problem, please call your bank or visit a branch to discuss how to complete a BACS transfer for high value payments. Please note, we do not accept deposits by CHAPS.

Withdrawing money from your account is equally simple. You can either go online or phone us on 0500 007 007 and we will transfer the money into your nominated bank account.

Debit card clearance

Once your account is open, you’ll start earning interest on all deposits from the day we receive them. Debit card deposits will be available for withdrawal from the seventh working day (ie excluding weekends and English bank holidays). For example, if we receive your debit card details on a Monday, your payment will be cleared on the Tuesday of the following week. Allow one additional day for each English bank holiday.

We will start to process your debit card payment, as soon as we receive it, so please make sure you have enough money in your account at the time.

Keeping track of your money

The added convenience of the NS&I Direct Saver is that you can manage your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You’ll be able to pay money in or take it out, check your balance, review recent transactions, and change your personal details whenever you want on our secure website. You can also call and speak to us on 0500 007 007 between 7am and midnight every day.

Once a year we will also provide you with a full statement. This will give you a record of all payments in and out of your account, as well as details of the interest your money has earned.

For joint accounts, we’ll send all statements and correspondence to the first holder named on your application.

How much can I save?

For each NS&I Direct Saver account, you must keep a balance of at least £1. You can save up to £2 million per person. If you open more than one NS&I Direct Saver account, the limit is for the total amount of money you hold in all of them.

Interest and tax

Your savings will earn interest on a daily basis and will be credited to your account annually. The rate of interest your savings earn is variable so it may change from time to time. You can check the current rate of interest by following the link below or by calling us on 0500 007 007.

Interest rates

We’ll pay you interest on your NS&I Direct Saver without deducting tax. However, the interest you earn is subject to UK Income Tax, so if you’re a taxpayer you will need to declare it to HM Revenue & Customs.

Making sure your account is secure

With NS&I you can rest assured that managing your Direct Saver on our website is safe. We use many different layers of security to help protect our customers. We can’t talk about them all, but they include:

we only allow access to our website through secured networks designed to prevent unauthorised activity
all of our servers are constantly updated with the latest security patches and anti-virus software
customers’ personal information is only held on protected systems that have no direct public access

Your password

When you open an NS&I Direct Saver online you’ll need to supply a password and other security information as part of your application. We’ll use this information to confirm your identity whenever you use our online or phone services. As with all security information, you must keep your password secure.

If you open your account by phone, we’ll ask you to provide some security information as part of your application. We’ll then send you a temporary password in the post.

Before you can manage your NS&I Direct Saver online or by phone, you will need to change this temporary password to one of your own choice. You will be prompted to do this when you log in to NS&I's online services, or call us on 0500 007 007 for assistance.

You must keep your password and security information secret and take care not to record it in a place where anyone else could discover it.

Your right to cancel

If after opening your account you decide it does not meet your needs, let us know within 14 days of receiving your welcome letter and we will help you change to a different account or refund your money with any interest due.

Here are our contact details:

National Savings and Investments
Glasgow
G58 1SB

Fax 0141 636 8744
Email contact us
Telephone 0500 007 007

Protecting your personal information

When you become a customer of NS&I, we will treat all the personal information we hold about you as private and confidential.

Find out more about our privacy policy

Our commitment to good service

We are committed to providing you with a high standard of service. If we make a mistake we’ll aim to put things right quickly and without fuss. And if you have a complaint, we have a procedure designed to resolve it fairly. We are also covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service. To find out more, you can download a copy of our complaints procedure leaflet or contact us and we’ll send you one.

Helpful information

Your savings needs

Direct Saver