Savings account FAQs

The ISA allowance for the current tax year is £20,000. You can choose to use your ISA allowance in a cash ISA, a stocks and shares ISA, an innovative finance ISA, a lifetime ISA, or a combination – as long as you don't exceed your annual allowance.

Yes, you can make withdrawals from your Cash ISA to your linked account or an Online Savings Account without being charged.

But our Cash ISA is not a flexible ISA, so any money you do take out can’t be replaced within your tax-free allowance. This is because the annual ISA allowance applies to what you pay in, not what you save overall. So, if you take any money out, you won’t be able to top it back up to the full contribution limit.

If you withdraw money from your Cash ISA to either your linked account or an Online Savings Account, you’ll give up the tax-free benefit on the amount you withdraw. This means that any future interest you earn on the amount you’ve withdrawn may be subject to tax.

You can also transfer your Cash ISA savings in full to an ISA with another provider and keep the tax-free benefits on the money transferred.

No, you aren’t able to transfer in an existing cash ISA you hold.

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April each year.

To take full advantage of your annual allowance, you’ll need to make sure you send your funds to your Cash ISA before the cut-off date for that year.

This is particularly important if you’re adding money to your Cash ISA by cheque - so please leave enough time for your cheque to arrive, taking into account any potential postal delays. 

For your money to be included in the current tax year, you need to pay into your Cash ISA by 10:30pm on 4 April. For cheques, the deadline is 28 March for it to be included in this tax year.

If you add money into your Cash ISA after this, the money may not count towards your current tax years ISA allowance but instead count towards your allowance for the new tax year.

Yes, you can transfer the money in your Cash ISA to another provider, but all of the money in your Cash ISA must be transferred out in full. We are unable to support transfers of partial amounts.

All ISA providers follow a standard process to ensure your ISA is transferred securely between ISA providers. 

To switch providers, you should take the following steps:

1. Contact your new Cash ISA provider to start your transfer. They’ll ask you to complete a Transfer Authority Form (TAF) – this form may vary between providers, and could be an electronic or a paper form, so check with your new provider if you have any questions about their process.
2. Submit your Transfer Authority Form to us using your new provider’s process (either electronically or via post). 
3. Once we have received your transfer request, we will work with your new provider to begin the transfer of your Cash ISA . 

Once started, this process to transfer between Cash ISAs should take no longer than 15 working days. 

We’ll place a restriction on your account once we receive the request to transfer your Cash ISA to your new provider. This means you won’t be able to pay into or move money out of your Cash ISA during this time.

You’ll continue to earn interest on the money in your Cash ISA up until, and including, the day we transfer the money out of your account to your new Cash ISA provider.

Once your Cash ISA transfer is complete, interest on the transferred money should be backdated by your new provider to the day they receive the money from us. Once we have confirmation that your new provider has received the money, we will close your Cash ISA.

We'll complete the transfer of your Cash ISA to your new ISA provider within 15 working days of receiving your request.

When we’ve completed all our checks, we’ll send the money from your Cash ISA to your new provider through the Faster Payments Service or by cheque depending on your new provider’s process. 

You’ll continue to earn interest on your Cash ISA up until, and including the day we transfer it out of your account to your new Cash ISA provider.

You’ll notice that we’ll place a restriction on your account once we receive the Transfer Authority Form from your new Cash ISA provider. The process should be completed within 15 working days. This means you won’t be able to pay in or out of your Cash ISA during this time. Once your Cash ISA is transferred, interest on the transferred funds should be backdated by your new provider either to the date of our cheque, or to the day after the transfer process is completed, whichever is the earliest.  

If you’re required to renew your Cash ISA, you can only do this online, via your desktop or mobile browser, by following these steps:

1. Log into marcus.co.uk
2. Select ‘View’ next to your Cash ISA.
3. Open the ‘Manage account’ dropdown and select ‘Renew Cash ISA’ from the menu options.
4. Read the Cash ISA product summary.
5. Review your details.
6. Check and confirm the declaration and terms and conditions.

Your Cash ISA will be renewed, and you can start paying into it right away.

You can also call us on 0800 085 6789 and a member of our Customer Care Team can help you to renew your Cash ISA. Our lines are open 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

No, you can’t renew your Cash ISA in the app. You can only renew your Cash ISA from a web or mobile browser, by following these steps:

1. Log into marcus.co.uk
2. Select ‘View’ next to your Cash ISA.
3. Open the ‘Manage account’ dropdown and select ‘Renew Cash ISA’ from the menu options.
4. Read the Cash ISA product summary.
5. Review your details.
6. Check and confirm the declaration and terms and conditions. 

You can close your Cash ISA by calling us on 0800 085 6789 or if your balance is under £20,000 you can send us an email at [email protected]. A member of our Customer Care Team will guide you through the process. Our lines are open 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

No, you can only have one Cash ISA in your name with Goldman Sachs International Bank (GSIB) which includes Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Saga Savings. 

Your account term starts from the date your account is opened. From that date, you have 14 calendar days to add up to £250,000 to your 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver (this is your funding window). After this date you won’t be able to add any more.

You can add money from your linked account or from another Marcus account you hold with us in your name, if it allows you to make payments.

If your Marcus account is a joint account, both of you will be able to add money in this way.

You can make as many payments into your account as you like during the funding window, up to £250,000. Any money received after the funding window closes will be returned to you.

If you don’t add any money during the funding window, we’ll close your account.

Your term will end either on the one-year anniversary of your account opening, or on the next business day. We’ll contact you before it ends to remind you and to explain your options for what to do with your savings. 

We’ll do what you’ve asked us to do on the day your term ends. You won’t earn interest for that day but you’ll keep earning interest daily until then. We’ll pay any interest you’ve earned into your account before we move your money.

If you don’t let us know what you want to do by the end of the business day before your term ends, we’ll transfer your money and any interest into a Maturity Saver. We’ll let you know the current interest rate for the Maturity Saver before we move your money and you’ll be able to access your money at any time.

Our 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver does not allow withdrawals, including during your funding window. So you should be sure you will not need access to your money before you open one.

If you need to close your account early, you can call our Customer Care Team on 0800 085 6789. We’ll charge an early closure fee.

If you close your account within the first 90 days, the fee will be equal to the interest you’ve earned so far. If you close your account after that point, the fee will be equal to the interest you earned during those first 90 days.

If you have a joint account, either of you will usually be able to give us instructions to close your 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver early.

The early closure fee will not apply if a sole account holder dies or if we can see that you’re in unexpected or challenging circumstances that mean you need urgent access to your money. If you find yourself in this situation, please contact us.

A Maturity Saver is the account we open for you after your 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver expires. You can access your money at any time and the interest rate is variable. The Maturity Saver doesn’t include the option to add a bonus rate.

Yes, you can move money from your Maturity Saver to another Marcus account, or to your linked account.

To close your Maturity Saver, please call us on 0800 085 6789 and a member of our Customer Care Team will do this for you. Our lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

If you have a Maturity Saver account, there are a few things you can do:

• Open another Marcus account and move the funds into that account. You can see what Marcus accounts are available in our savings table.
• Move your money into an existing Marcus account.
• Move your money back to your linked account.

Once you move your money, you can email [email protected] or you can call our Customer Care Team to close your Maturity Saver account. Our number is 0800 085 6789 and we’re open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

If you chose to do nothing with your Maturity Saver account, you’ll continue to earn interest on your money and receive updates about it.

When you applied for an account with us, we asked you to give us the details of a UK current account held in your name. This is your linked account (although you may have updated this since you opened your account).

You can add money to your Marcus accounts from your linked account. You can also transfer money between the Marcus accounts you hold. If your Marcus account is a joint account, both of you will be able to add money this way.

To send money from your linked account, you can just make a transfer the way you usually do from your current account. Use your Marcus account number and sort code and put your own name as the payment reference.

Extra verification

When you send a payment from your linked account, you may be shown an extra verification step. This is a new scheme introduced by some banks that automatically confirms whether the account you’re trying to send money to is in the name of your intended payee.

The scheme is in its first phase, and we’re not included in that, but provided you’ve checked the details you’ve entered and you’re happy that they’re correct, you can still continue with your payment.

When you make a transfer to your Marcus account, you should check:

• You’ve entered your full name correctly, as it appears on your Marcus account.
• The sort code is displayed as 40-64-37 and shows Goldman Sachs International Bank.
• Your Marcus account number is correct.

How long a transfer takes 

When you add money by bank transfer, it should arrive in your Marcus account as soon as we’ve received it. This tends to be within two hours if your linked account provider uses Faster Payments. You’ll start earning interest on the same day we receive your money.

If you add money using a bank transfer over the weekend, it could take until the end of Monday to show in your Marcus account depending on when we receive it. Please allow extra time on bank holidays.

We can only accept cheques from your linked account. To add money by cheque:

1. Make the cheque payable to Goldman Sachs International Bank.
2. Write your Marcus sort code and account number on the back.
3. Post it securely to:

Goldman Sachs International Bank
PO Box 5184
Worthing
BN11 9JD

Please allow at least 7 days for your cheque to reach us. We won’t be able to let you know we’ve received your cheque, but once we do, we'll credit your account. We can’t accept banker’s drafts, so please don’t send them to us.

To move money out of your Marcus account, just log in and make a bank transfer to your linked account or call us. 

You can take out up to £20,000 in one day online. If you want to take out any more than that, you’ll need to call our Customer Care Team on 0800 085 6789, or +44 203 901 3353 if you’re calling from abroad and we can do this for you. Our lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (excluding bank holidays). You’ll be able to take out as much as you hold in your account over the phone

Payments from your Marcus account to your linked account are usually made within two hours and at the latest by the end of the following business day.

If this doesn’t happen, it might be because we are checking the payment as we think your account is at risk of fraud or unauthorised use. It might also be because allowing the payment through would cause us to breach a law or regulation. Please also be aware that payments over the weekend may take longer because this is when we carry out regular maintenance.

If there’s a problem with a transaction on your Marcus account, we’ll let you know the reason as soon as we can and as long as we’re legally permitted to. You can read more about moving your money in our terms and conditions.

There are a few reasons why this might happen:

1. If you’ve transferred money from your linked account over the weekend, it can take until the end of Monday to show in your account depending on when we receive it.
2. Similarly, if you send the money outside of your linked account provider’s business hours, the transaction can take a little longer to show in your Marcus account.
3. If you’ve given the wrong Marcus account details to your linked account provider or tried to send money from an external account other than your linked account, the money will be sent back to the account you sent it from.
4. If you try to make a payment into your account that would take your balance over the maximum pay in limit of the account, the money will be sent back to the account you sent it from.

The interest you earn on your savings counts towards the maximum pay in limit of £250,000. This means if your account balance is close to £250,000, and interest is added that takes your account balance up to or over that limit, you won’t be able to add more money to your account. Please make sure you check your account balance before trying to make a payment.

There may also be times where we have to stop money coming into your Marcus account for a legal reason. You can read more about moving your money in our terms and conditions.

All payments to your Marcus account must be from your linked account which must be a UK personal current account. Any money that’s sent from a non-linked account will be returned. If we’re unable to return it to you electronically, we’ll need to send you a cheque in the post.

Please don’t send us money from an international account (even in Great British Pounds). If you’ve sent us money from an international account and we try to return it to you, you may be subjected to a fee by your provider.

The maximum amount you can save in any Marcus account is £250,000.

If your balance is close to the pay in limit of £250,000, you may accrue interest that pushes your account balance over the maximum pay in limit. If this happens, you won't be able to add any more money to your account, but you will keep earning interest in the same way and it will continue to be paid into your account.

Please be aware that we're a part of a US bank, so we can't accept money that's related to countries or territories where there are significant financial crime concerns or legal restrictions in the US. For example, this means you won't be able to save money in an account with us when you intend to spend it in:

• Cuba
• Iran
• so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic
• so-called Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol
• North Korea
• Syria

If we suspect that the money you’re saving is related to or intended to be used in this way, we may need to delay or reject transactions, or freeze your account. Depending on the circumstance, there’s a chance we may not be able to return your money to you.