Archives: FAQ - Savings

Key Features

• • • Variable interest rate of 1.70% gross* p.a./AER**
    • Minimum interest rate guarantee of 1.00% gross* p.a./AER**
    • Due to restrictions within our system, we cannot accept additional deposits into converted Cash ISA products
    • No notice withdrawals
    • Minimum balance required to keep the account open is £25
    • View your account, request withdrawals and send secure messages via our online service (restrictions apply)
    • Operation also available via free First Class Business Reply post
    • Interest payable on 5 April
    • Statements issued annually in April
    • Voting rights available(1)

*All ISA interest is paid tax-free, which means it’s exempt from income tax and no tax is deducted. It’s your responsibility to pay any tax due, based on your individual circumstances. Tax rules may change in future.

**AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and provides a means of comparing interest rates by showing what the rate would be if interest was paid and added once a year.

1) Voting rights are available to those individuals aged 18 or over whose account balance was not less than £100 between the Society’s previous financial year end (or another date as specified in the rules) and the date of voting.

The information provided in this Summary Box is a summary of the key features of the Treasurers’ Deposit account and is not intended to be a substitute for reading the terms and conditions that apply to the account.

Account name: Treasurers’ Deposit

What is the interest rate?

The Treasurers’ Deposit account offers a variable rate of interest of 0.85% gross* p.a./AER**

Interest is calculated on a daily basis and credited to your account on 31 December each year.

* Gross is the interest rate without tax deducted.

** AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and provides a means of comparing interest rates by showing what the rate would be if interest was paid and added once a year.

Can Ecology Building Society change the interest rate?

We may change interest rates at any time if we reasonably believe that the change is needed for any of the following reasons (which may relate to circumstances existing at the time or those that are expected to apply in the near future):
• to respond to changes in the Bank of England Base Rate
• to respond to changes in mortgage or interest rates generally (including the interest rates paid on similar accounts by other providers of financial services)
• to enable us to manage the difference between the interest rates charged to our borrowers and interest rates paid to our investors, or the providers of funds to us, taking into account the interests of the Society, our members, and your rights and interests as an account holder
• to respond to changes in the law or the decision of a court or ombudsman
• to meet relevant regulatory requirements
• to respond to new (or changes to) statements or codes of practice or industry guidance designed to enhance consumer protection
• to reflect changes to our costs in providing the account, including administration costs and costs of providing services or facilities
• to introduce or alter ‘tiers’ of interest where different rates apply depending on the amount in the account.

Where we make any such change, we will act reasonably and we will only make the change if we believe it is fair in the circumstances.

Any change we make to interest rates will be proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the change.

For further information regarding interest rate changes including the process for notifying you, please refer to section 7 in our leaflet Saving with Ecology – General terms and conditions.

What would the estimated balance be after 12 months based on a £1,000 deposit?

Based on an interest rate of 0.85% gross, the balance on a £1,000 deposit after 12 months would be £1,008.50.

This projection is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not take into account your individual circumstances.

How do I open and manage my account?

Limited to one Treasurers’ Deposit account per group/charity.

Operation is via Ecology’s online service (restrictions apply) or by free First Class Business Reply post. Withdrawals via our online service are not available for this account.

The minimum amount to open a Treasurers’ Deposit account is £25 and the maximum investment is £75,000.

The minimum deposit is £5 and the minimum amount required to keep a Treasurers’ Deposit account open is £25.

You can save monthly by Direct Debit or standing order (the minimum amount payable by Direct Debit is £10).

Deposits can be made by transfer via the banking system.

Can I withdraw money?

As there is no notice period with the Treasurers’ Deposit account, you have unrestricted access to your funds.

The minimum withdrawal amount is £5 and withdrawals must be for a specific amount unless the account is to be closed. Accounts can be closed upon request and with no penalty.

Withdrawals should be requested by using one of our Withdrawal/Notification forms or by sending us a letter signed by whoever is authorised to operate the account.

Additional information
This Summary Box should be read in conjunction with the following leaflets before applying for a Treasurers’ Deposit account:
• Treasurers Deposit account leaflet  
• Saving with Ecology – General terms and conditions
• FSCS Information Sheet
• Current savings rates and charges
• Our range of savings accounts
• Savings account identification requirements

The information provided in this Summary Box is a summary of the key features of the Regular Savings account and is not intended to be a substitute for reading the terms and conditions that apply to the account.

Account name: Regular Savings

What is the interest rate?

The Regular Savings account offers a variable rate of interest of 1.75% gross* p.a./AER**

Interest is calculated on a daily basis and credited to your account on 31 December each year.

* We pay all savings interest gross, which means that no tax is deducted. It’s your responsibility to pay any tax due, based on your individual circumstances. Tax rules may change in future.

** AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and provides a means of comparing interest rates by showing what the rate would be if interest was paid and added once a year.

Can Ecology Building Society change the interest rate?

We may change interest rates at any time if we reasonably believe that the change is needed for any of the following reasons (which may relate to circumstances existing at the time or those that are expected to apply in the near future):
• to respond to changes in the Bank of England Base Rate
• to respond to changes in mortgage or interest rates generally (including the interest rates paid on similar accounts by other providers of financial services)
• to enable us to manage the difference between the interest rates charged to our borrowers and interest rates paid to our investors, or the providers of funds to us, taking into account the interests of the Society, our members, and your rights and interests as an account holder
• to respond to changes in the law or the decision of a court or ombudsman
• to meet relevant regulatory requirements
• to respond to new (or changes to) statements or codes of practice or industry guidance designed to enhance consumer protection
• to reflect changes to our costs in providing the account, including administration costs and costs of providing services or facilities
• to introduce or alter ‘tiers’ of interest where different rates apply depending on the amount in the account.

Where we make any such change, we will act reasonably and we will only make the change if we believe it is fair in the circumstances.

Any change we make to interest rates will be proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the change.

For further information regarding interest rate changes including the process for notifying you, please refer to section 7 in our leaflet Saving with Ecology – General terms and conditions.

What would the estimated balance be after 12 months based on a monthly deposit of £250?

Based on an interest rate of 1.75% gross, the estimated balance on a monthly deposit of £250 after 12 months would be £3,028.44.

This projection is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not take into account your individual circumstances.

How do I open and manage my account?

Limited to one Regular Savings account per member.

To open an account, please go to the ‘How to apply for a Regular Savings Account’ section towards the bottom of this page. Alternatively, you can request to open an account by emailing [email protected] or calling us on 01535 650 770.

Operation is via Ecology’s online service (restrictions apply) or by free First Class Business Reply post.

You can save between £25 and £250 a month with the maximum investment being £3,000 per calendar year.

If your monthly payment is less than £250, you can top it up to the value of £250 by way of a bank transfer or cheque.

Please note, if funds received take the monthly payment in excess of £250, these will automatically be returned.

Only one monthly Direct Debit can be set up and we will collect payment from your bank account on the second working day of each month.

The minimum amount required to keep a Regular Savings account open is £25.

If you miss more than two payments in a calendar year we will close your account and transfer the whole balance, including accrued interest, to an Easy Access account.

Can I withdraw money?

As there is no notice period with the Regular Savings account, you have unrestricted access to your funds, however, only two withdrawals are allowed in a calendar year. If you make three withdrawals in a calendar year we will close your account and transfer the whole balance, including accrued interest, to an Easy Access account.

The minimum withdrawal amount is £25 and withdrawals must be for a specific amount unless the account is to be closed. Accounts can be closed upon request and with no penalty.

Withdrawals should be requested via our online service (restrictions apply). Withdrawals can also be requested by using one of our Withdrawal/Notification forms or by sending us a letter signed by whoever is authorised to operate the account.

Additional information
This Summary Box should be read in conjunction with the following leaflets before applying for a Regular Savings account:
• Regular Savings account leaflet
• Saving with Ecology – General terms and conditions
• FSCS Information Sheet
• Current savings rates and charges
• Our range of savings accounts
• Savings account identification requirements

You can pay a minimum of £10 and a maximum of £250 per month into your account, with the maximum investment being £3,000 per calendar year.

We have mentioned that we share your personal information with Fraud Prevention Agencies and Credit Reference Agencies. They require us to pass on to you information about how they will use your personal information to perform their services or functions as data controllers in their own right.

Where you make your initial savings deposit via Worldpay, given Worldpay are also a data controller in their own right, you can find information about how they use your personal information to perform their services on their privacy notice.

These notices are separate to our own. They are available at the following links:

• Experian
• Equifax 
• TransUnion
• Worldpay

We may use your home or correspondence address, phone numbers and email address to contact you according to your marketing preferences. We may also use other platforms (e.g.Facebook and Google) to contact you according to your online preferences such as your cookie settings. This means we do this only if we have a legal ground which allows it under data protection laws – this will only be done when we have your consent. You can request we stop our marketing at any time by emailing [email protected] or by writing to Ecology Building Society, Ellis House, 7 Belton Road, Silsden, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 0EE or by following the instructions on how to unsubscribe within each marketing email.

Your personal information may be converted into statistical or aggregated data which cannot be used to re-identify you. It may then be used to produce statistical research and reports. This aggregated data may be shared and used in all the ways described in this privacy notice.