Santander UK is a large retail and commercial bank based in the UK and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the major global bank Banco Santander. It offers a large range of financial and personal services including current accounts, savings, mortgages, loans, credit cards and much more.
Topics
2 Year Fixed Rate ISA
Santander’s 2 Year Fixed Rate ISA is a Cash ISA that gives you a tax-free guaranteed interest rate for a fixed term period of two years. The fixed rate of interest is 0.20% AER tax-free. The minimum opening deposit for this product is £500, up to a maximum tax-free allocation of £20,000. No partial withdrawals are permitted. Upon early closure, a penalty equivalent to 120 days’ interest applies.
eISA
Santander’s Cash eISA is an online cash ISA that pays tax-free interest on your savings and gives you instant access to your money through online and mobile banking. You open the account with £500 or more and can deposit up to the maximum tax-free allocation of £20,000. The variable rate of interest is 0.05% AER tax-free for 12 months. To open this account you must be a UK resident aged 16 or over.
Easy ISA
Santander’s Easy ISA offers tax-free interest on your savings with the added flexibility to withdraw your money if you need it, anytime. The variable rate of interest is 0.01% AER tax-free for savings of £1 and over, and 0.10% AER tax-free for savings of £40,000 and over. The maximum tax-free allocation for this product is £20,000.
Junior ISA
Santander’s Junior ISA is designed to help give your children and grandchildren a head start in life; as such this ISA can be opened on behalf of any child resident in the UK, under 18 years. This product allows tax-free contributions of up to £9,000 in the 2023/24 tax year. The variable rate of interest is 0.75% AER tax-free. No withdrawals or closures are allowed until the account matures on the child’s 18th birthday. Junior ISA transfers between providers are allowed at any time.
Stocks and Shares ISA
Santander’s Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax efficient way to invest giving you the potential for higher returns for the medium to long term (usually five years or more). You will pay no Capital Gains Tax and no Income Tax on your investments. Invest from £20 a month and/or with a lump sum of £500, up to a maximum allocation of £20,000. If you already have an ISA you can transfer all or part of it into a Santander Stocks and Shares ISA held in the Investment Hub. To open this account you must be a UK resident aged 18 or over.
Other Services
Santander offer a large range of financial and personal services including current accounts, savings, mortgages, loans, credit cards and much more.
Santander Reviews and Ratings
Online reviews for Santander are overwhelmingly bad with customers unhappy with the poor customer service, unhelpful staff, slow processes and the frustration at having their accounts blocked or frozen for no apparent reason.
Trustpilot – 1.5/5 (based on 3,518 reviews)
Reviews.io – 1.54/5 (based on 206 reviews)
Pros
- A popular, well-known retail and commercial brand
- Offers a large of range of different ISA products to suit all tastes
- Includes a flexible tax-free Cash eISA
- A large range of financial and personal support services also available
- Award-winning: Moneyfacts 2020
- Clear, easy-to-understand product information on website
- Fast easy online setup
- FSCS protected
Cons
- Some very bad customer reviews
- Complaints about appalling customer service
- Complaints that customer accounts are frozen for no viable reason
- You must be a UK resident aged 16 or over to open most accounts
Website: Santander