Experiences with app based Cash ISAs, transfers and customer service

[Soonthemoney]

I plan to put a chunk of money into a cash ISA and the app based ISAs - Chip, Plum, Trading 121, Moneybox etc consistently seem to have the best interest rates. I tend to do banking via my desktop, so I’m asking for your experiences.

Is it easy to transfer cash to and from your bank account, which app do yo use? Is the customer service good – is it easy to speak to someone if you need to? Long time users, have you had any major issues transferring out to another ISA provider when the rate drops.

I plan to transfer an existing ISA to S&S on expiry and am looking into the Rebel Finance School to get me started, so only looking at Cash ISAs for now.

Oops - Trading 212 I meant

I use T212. It’s v easy to trf from another account to T212. App is v easy to use.
I’m not sure you would get to speak to somebody easily. But the chat facilities are very good. Every issue I have had has been resolved over chat.

I use trading 212 and find it very easy to transfer into and out of. Never had to use the customer service, which I guess is a good sign in itself

I used Trading 212 last tax year and have just transferred to eToro for a better rate.
They have both been easy to transfer in and out again

Hargreaves Lansdown gives access to multiple cash ISAs on their active money account. So if rates change it can be switched easily without a transfer.

Thank you for the replies. I’ve been looking into Trading 212 since last year but haven’t taken the plunge yet. I’m going to start with a small amount and then fund it further in the next few weeks as it seems one of the more popular apps.

@FinancialGuru I was looking at Hargreaves Lansdowne’s ISAs earlier but didn’t realise that you can switch easily with their active money account. Are there fees for this as I need to switch an ISA that will mature next month

No fees. Best check the rates to ensure their best rates match what is available on the main market.

Switching is a simple press of a couple of buttons and they email you if there are rate cuts.

I haven't used plum but have used all the others no issues. Never had to call them so can't answer that.

The best cash ISA instant access on HL is 3.80%.

You can get 4.7% from Prosper. However, sometimes headline rates do not hold.

I have Trading 212 and Chip ISAs. Very easy to set up use - I assume you also have online banking via an app? As they appear to magically link to your bank app to get money in and out.

Only issue is the T212 rate has now dropped, but I've just discovered it cannot be transferred to Chip because it's not on their list!

I’ve used Zopa, and I’m with Moneybox at the moment. Really easy to use. DH looked at Plum but they wanted a load of personal information he wasn’t prepared to share, so no experience there.

I just opened a Cash ISA on Trading 212 at 4.58%. It’s for new customers only and includes a 0.98% bonus for the first 12 months. I think the Promo code was TI… just google Trading 212 promo codes

If you use a desktop pc make sure you have a camera. Trading 212 recently changed the login process so you have to use facial recognition. Not great if you don't have a camera attached to your pc or don't want to use their app on your phone. It was easy to move money in and has been easy to transfer it all to Moneybox.

Trading 212 has been a nightmare for my mum and they don’t have a streamlined power of attorney service which we will need soon, so we are going to transfer elsewhere.

Thanks for your answers, very interesting.

@FinancialGuru I’ll check their rates and the providers

@SleepingisanArt I’ve just been reading about the face ID. I don’t have camera on my PC – I thought it was app based only and you couldn’t log in with a PC so I’ll look into this. I'm assuming you initially sign up using an app and then can access your account via desktop

@MokaEfti Yes, best to transfer it to another provider