Our range / Fixed Interest Savings Certificates /

How they work

Fixed Interest Savings Certificates give you a tax-free return at guaranteed rates. And you can hold them in addition to any other tax-free investments you already have.

• Investment terms
• Issues
• Who can invest?
• Tax-free advantages
• Investment limits
• 100% security
• Access
• Cheque and debit card clearance
• What happens at the end of each term
• About the terms and conditions
• Protecting your personal information
• Banking Code

Investment terms

We offer Savings Certificates in a choice of two terms, currently 2 years and 5 years. You can choose which term suits you best. Or you can invest in both.

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Issues

Each term is sold in Issues. We bring out a new Issue whenever the fixed interest rates we are offering change. This doesn't affect the interest rates on any Savings Certificates you already have - they remain guaranteed. But it does mean you can also invest in the new Issue at the new rates, allowing you to save even more tax-free.

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Who can invest?

Anyone aged seven or over can invest in Savings Certificates, either individually or jointly. They can also be bought on behalf of a child under seven and the child becomes responsible for them on their seventh birthday. You can also buy Savings Certificates as a trustee.

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Tax-free advantages

With Fixed Interest Savings Certificates every single penny of interest you earn is yours to keep. That means if you're a basic rate taxpayer, a tax-free return of say 3.6% is the same as a taxable return of 4.5% gross. And if you're a higher rate taxpayer, the return would be worth 6.0% gross. For the current rates on offer see interest rates.

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Investment limits

You can invest any amount from £100 to £15,000 in each Issue of Fixed Interest Savings Certificates. The more you invest, the more tax-free interest you will earn. And this doesn't count towards your allowance for our Index-linked Savings Certificates or cash ISA.

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100% security

Any money you invest in Fixed Interest Savings Certificates is 100% secure. National Savings and Investments can make this promise, because our investments are backed by HM Treasury.

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Access

To get the maximum benefit from your Savings Certificate, you need to keep your money invested for the full length of the term you choose. You can cash them in early, but you will earn a lower rate of return. If you cash in after the first year but before your Certificate matures, you'll earn interest for each complete period of three months. If you cash them in during the first year, you won't earn any interest at all. To cash in a Certificate held jointly, both investors need to sign.

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Cheque and debit card clearance

If you buy your Certificate by cheque or debit card, your payment will be cleared on the 7th working day (ie excluding weekends and English bank holidays). Certificates can only be cashed in after your payment has cleared.
 
For example, if we receive your cheque or 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.

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What happens at the end of each term

Shortly before your Savings Certificate reaches the end of its investment term, we’ll write to let you know what offers are available at the time. You’ll have a number of choices:

If we don’t hear from you by the end of the Certificate’s investment term, your Certificate will automatically start earning interest at the rate on offer for a further term of the same length.

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About the terms and conditions

Please read the terms and conditions before you invest. If we make any changes to the terms and conditions after you invest, we will let you know. If any change is to your disadvantage, we will tell you personally at least 30 days before the change. In this case you can switch to another product or cash in your Certificate, without notice or penalty, within 60 days of us telling you. For any other changes, we will let customers know by putting a notice on our website and in a range of national newspapers.

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Protecting your personal information

When you become a customer of ours, we will treat all the personal information we hold about you as private and confidential. Click here for details on our privacy policy.

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Banking Code

National Savings and Investments subscribes to the Banking Code and has a formal complaints procedure with an independent arbitration scheme. Click here for further details of the Code or our complaints procedure. 

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