interactive investor to pay interest on cash balances from 1 July 2022
28th June 2022 13:06
by Jemma Jackson from interactive investor
Interest will be paid on cash balances held in British Pounds and US dollars.
- Interest will be paid on cash balances held in British Pounds and US dollars
interactive investor, the UK’s second-largest investment platform for private investors, will start paying interest on cash balances from 1 July 2022.
The investment platform will pass on interest of 0.25% AER on balances over £10,000 in British Pounds, or the equivalent value over £10,000 held in US dollars. Cash balances held in ISAs, Trading Accounts, SIPPs and JISAs are treated separately.
Cash Balance | Gross % | AER % |
On the value over £10,000 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
On the first £10,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Richard Wilson, CEO, interactive investor says: “Interest rates are still low, but following recent increases, ii will begin paying interest on accounts from July 1st.
“We are a simple fixed-fee investment platform, always striving to enhance service and value. We continue to innovate - last year we introduced Friends and Family, and this year we have followed through with the launch of our fantastic value Pension Builder.
“With investors increasingly investing internationally, our customers who minimise FX costs by holding foreign currencies in their ii account don’t need to pay an FX commission each time they trade. Now they can potentially earn interest on US dollar balances too.
“Customers looking for meaningful returns on cash, such as they are, may want to consider our cash savings service, with some market leading rates from the UK’s banks and building societies. And for anyone wanting to save money in investment platform costs, the best way to do so is to shop around. For larger pots, you could save a fortune by switching to a flat-fee platform like ii.”
Why US dollars as well as pounds sterling?
Customers are increasingly looking overseas, and the US market is the second largest region for ii customers directly investing in shares.
Interactive investor automatically provides customers with currency accounts for their trading account or SIPP– a stand out benefit of being with ii. When investors buy international shares, they ultimately need to be paid for in local currency, which can be done either at the time of the trade, or in advance, through currency conversion.
At interactive investor, we allow customers to do both. The advantage of changing currencies in advance, independently of trades means that investors can minimise FX charges on every single trade. And they can hold those currencies in their ii account.
For longer-term cash holders who want to earn interest, ii offers a separate cash savings service, which enables customers to hold cash savings in one place and pick the best deal from a broad selection of the UK’s banks and building societies.
To view ii’s full rate card, see here.
Notes to editors
* AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows the interest rate received over the year taking into account the effect of compounding interest payments.
The cash savings service is through Flagstone.
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