Opening an account

To apply for an account you'll need to:

• Be aged 18 or over.
• Have a UK address, and be resident in the UK for tax purposes.*
• Provide the sort code and account number of a UK current account in your name. This will be your linked account which you’ll use to make payments to and from your Marcus account. The same linked account will apply to all your Marcus accounts.
• Have a UK mobile phone number.
• Have your own email address that you can use for your account and that you don’t share with your joint account holder or anyone else.*Excludes residents of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Eligibility

Unfortunately, we're not able to offer accounts to all applicants, including in cases where your circumstances would require us to put in place additional infrastructure or systems, to process additional information or to incur additional regulatory obligations in order to service your account.

For example, we'll be unable to open an account for you if

• You're a US citizen.
• You hold dual citizenship of the US and another country.
• You're a US resident alien.

This is because at this time, we would be required to comply with certain US tax reporting obligations in respect of your account. 

US resident alien

You are a resident alien of the United States for tax purposes if you're neither a citizen or national of the United States and you meet one of two tests set by the Internal Revenue Service for the calendar year. This is either the green card test or the substantial presence test. You can find more information on the Internal Revenue Service website.

Saving money to spend in certain countries or territories

When you save with us, please keep in mind that we’re part of a US bank, and we can’t accept money that’s related to countries or territories where there are significant financial crime concerns or legal restrictions. This means you won't be able to save money that you intend to spend in one of those countries or territories, like Cuba, Iran, Crimea, North Korea or Syria.

We may need to delay or reject transactions, or freeze your account if we suspect that the money you’re saving is related to or intended to be used in these countries or territories. In these circumstances, there’s a chance we may not be able to return your money to you.

Both our 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver and our Online Savings Account can be opened jointly by two people.

Your joint account holder must be the same across your accounts. This means that if you hold a joint Online Savings Account with someone, you can only open a joint 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver with that  same person.

If you open a joint account, we’ll usually accept instructions on the account from either of you. So, if one of you tells us to do something, we won’t usually check that the other account holder knows about it or has given permission. This means that, for example, we will usually accept instructions from either joint account holder to transfer money out of an account or to close an account completely.

No, to open a joint account you’ll need to open a new account with the joint account holder. We’ve made this process simple and straightforward to complete online.

When you log into your online banking, select the ‘Open a savings account’ link that sits below your existing account. You can then follow the on-screen steps. If the joint account holder doesn’t already hold a Marcus account, we will ask them to complete a full application. This means we may ask them to upload documents, for example to verify their identity, address or source of funds.

You will each have access to certain information about each other in relation to your joint Marcus account. For example, during an application for a joint account, if you are the second applicant, you will be shown the first applicant’s name and email address. This is so you know you are opening a joint account with the correct person.

As part of your application, we may ask you to upload some documents to verify your identity, your address or your source of funds.

To do this, you'll need to upload a photograph or scan of the original document we've asked for. You can also upload a copy of a document, like a bank statement that you've downloaded. We'll accept documents in English, in PDF, JPEG or PNG formats. 

When you photograph or scan the document, make sure that the image is clear, complete and that all four corners of the document are showing.

Save a copy to your device, then go to the Marcus application page. If you're coming back to this later, you just need to log back into Marcus using your email address and the password you set earlier.

You should see the document upload page. Click 'Upload' next to the document type you're uploading and find the folder where you stored your file. Select it and click 'OK'. It'll automatically upload and display on the page.

You can upload multiple files for each document if you need to. For example, when we ask to see the front and middle pages of your passport.

To verify your identity, we'll ask you to show us one of the documents from the list below in the correct format: 

• Passport – please copy the photo page and the page opposite.
• EU national identity card.
• Full UK driving licence. Must be at your current address – please copy front and back.
• Old style UK paper driving licence. Must be at your current address – please copy both sides.
• Northern Ireland electoral card.
• UK biometric residence permit (BRP) – please copy front and back.

When you photograph or scan the document, make sure that the image is clear, complete and that all four corners of the document are showing.

We can’t accept the same documents to prove both your identity and your address, so please make sure you use a different document for each. If you provide an identity document that contains your address, this must match the address on your application as well as on your address document.

We'll accept documents in English, in PDF, JPEG or PNG formats.

If you can’t provide us with a document from this list, please call us on 0800 085 6789. We’re open from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (excluding bank holidays).

To verify your address, we'll ask to see one of the documents from the list below.

Your document must show your current home address – the one on your application.

• Full UK driving licence. Must be at your current address – please copy front and back.
• Old style UK paper driving licence. Must be at your current address – please copy both sides.
• Council tax statement for the current tax year, at the address on your application.
• UK mortgage statement dated within the last 12 months, at the address on your application.
• Utility bill issued within the last three months. We can accept water, gas, electricity, broadband or landline telephone bills, but not mobile phone bills. Must be at your current address.
• A UK bank, building society, credit card or other regulated financial institution statement dated within the last three months at your current address.
• An HMRC self-assessment letter, confirmation of entitlement to tax credits or a letter confirming tax code, dated in the last 12 months (not a P45 or P60 form) and at your current address.
• Benefit entitlement letter issued by DWP, Job Centre Plus, your local authority or Veterans Agency dated in last 12 months and at your current address. This includes entitlement to pension payments, child benefit, tax credits, housing benefit and winter fuel allowance but not a P45 or P60 form. 

When you photograph or scan the document, make sure that the image is clear, complete and that all four corners of the document are showing.

We can’t accept the same document to prove both your identity and your address, so please make sure you use a different document for each. If you provide an identity document that contains your address, this must match the address on your application as well as on your address document.

If you can’t provide us with a document from this list, please call us on 0800 085 6789. We’re open from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (excluding bank holidays)

To verify your source of funds, we'll ask you to send us different documents as evidence depending on how you're funding your account. When you photograph or scan the document, make sure that the image is clear, complete and that all four corners of the document are showing.

We'll ask you to upload one of the documents from the relevant source of funds list below.

Salary

• Payslip dated within the last three months.
• Most recent annual tax return if you're self-employed.
• Confirmation of your salary, on headed company paper and signed by your employer.

Pension

• Most recent annual pension statement.
• Bank statement showing relevant pension deposits, dated within the last three months.

Current savings

Bank statements from the relevant savings accounts, dated within the last three months.

Sale of assets

• Evidence of completion of the sale.
• Written confirmation of the sale from your solicitor.

Investment income

• Statement of the investment from your investment provider.
• Your most recent annual tax return.
• Written confirmation of your investment income from your accountant or investment provider.

Gift

A gift is received from a living person. If someone has left you a gift in a will, this should be considered inheritance.

We'll accept a statement signed and dated by yourself that must contain all of the following:

1. Amount of the gift.
2. Reason or circumstances of the gift.
3. Full name, date of birth and address of the person who gave you the gift.
4. Your relationship with the person who gave you the gift.

For example:

I was given £1,000 from my friend John Smith (DOB 01/01/1900), of 1 Any Road, Any Town. AB1 1BA, for my birthday.

[Signed: your name] [Dated: DD/MM/YYYY]

Inheritance

• Written statement from a solicitor confirming the amount of your inheritance, the circumstances of your inheritance, the full name, date of birth and address of the deceased and your relationship with them.
• The death certificate of the person you inherited from and a statement signed by yourself confirming the amount of your inheritance, the circumstances of your inheritance, the full name, date of birth and address of the deceased and your relationship with them.

Gambling or lottery winnings

Evidence of your winnings, like a betting receipt or documentation from the paying company.

Other

If none of the categories above seem quite right, you can select ‘Other’ from the dropdown list so that you can describe your source of funds in your own words. We’ll still ask you to send us evidence to verify your source of funds, and you should upload the most relevant document you have.

We’ve included some common examples of other sources of funds below, and explained which documents we’ll accept as evidence for each.

Student loan

• Bank statements from a current account in your name showing your student loan coming in, dated within the last three months.
• A letter from your university or from Student Finance stating the amount of the loan, your name and university.  

Part-time work

• Bank statements from a current account in your name showing your income, dated within the last three months.
• Payslip dated within the last three months.
• Confirmation of your salary, on headed company paper and signed by your employer.

Redundancy

• A letter or a settlement agreement from your former employer stating the terms of the redundancy payment.
• A payslip showing the name of the company and the amount of redundancy.

Please note: We’re expecting we may experience delays in receiving deliveries at the moment, so if you send us something in the post, it may take longer than usual for us to process it.

If you need to send us something by post, please check whether we’ve asked you to send a certified copy or have given you the option to send in the original document or a certified copy If we’ve specifically asked for a certified copy, please don’t send us the original document.

Make sure that the document or any copies you send us are in English, and that they’re clear, complete and current.

Our address is:

Marcus UK
PO Box 74787
London
EC4P 4JG

A certified copy is a copy of an original identity document that has been checked by a professional, and confirmed to be a true copy of the original document.

To certify, the professional must write 'certified to be a true copy of the original' on the copy, sign and date it, and print their name, occupation and address underneath their signature.

For more information on certified copies, please visit gov.uk/certifying-a-document.

We might ask you to send us original documents, or original copies of documents. Both mean the same thing.

For death, marriage and birth certificates, we mean the original documents issued and certified by the General Register Office.

For lasting power of attorney documents, enduring power of attorney documents, Court Orders, Certificate of Appointments or Controllership Orders, this means a document issued by the court or Office of the Public Guardian and will usually bear an impressed seal, mark, or stamp.