First Active e-savings account

Jethro Tull said:
Actually just thinking about it, there is practically no difference in investing 10k in Halifax or FA for a term of 1 yr

Take Halifax's 5.15%. This is 4.12% net (=5.15%*0.8)

Take FA. This is 5.10% payable monthly (=.425% per month)
Deduct DIRT => .0034%
Annualising => (1.0034^12-1) = 4.1572% net

i.e stick 10k into Halifax you get 10412 back at year end after tax

Stick 10k into FA you get 10415.72 back after tax
Click to expand...
How so - if FA is paying 5.22% gross CAR and Halifax is paying 5.15% gross CAR then surely the returns from the former must be higher than from the latter!? :confused:
 
It is higher but its a gross CAR. If you use net figures and apply the interest monthly its only marginally better. Of course this uses 10k as an example, the advantage of FA is that they pay the 5.22% up to under 15k.
 
Jethro Tull said:
=> .425% (gross) over a month. (1.00425)^12 = 1.0522
Click to expand...

Jethro Tull said:
Take FA. This is 5.10% payable monthly (=.425% per month)
Deduct DIRT => .0034%
Annualising => (1.0034^12-1) = 4.1572% net
Click to expand...

Just a query on your calculations above. Why do you use 12mths in the first calculation and 11mths (12-1) in the 2nd? I've no doubt that you're correct, but just trying to understand it myself.
 
my syntax is bad there, apologises.

1.0034^12 = 1.041572

to get the actual interest rate rather than the compounding factor you subtract 1 to get .041572 = 4.1572%

originally should have read (1.0034^12)-1, the bracket was in the wrong place. Sorry for any confusion.
 
I am amused that you are all ecstatic about first active esaver account. I opened one of these accounts with a monthly direct debit from a cuurent account with ptsb. When I asked about transferring money out of the account I was told I could only tyranfer it to a First Active current account. Why should this be?
 
I have transferred to non FA accounts no problem once I called FA to add the relevant accounts to my eSavings account. Can't say that I wasn't happy with this but ecstasy would be pushing it.
 
I transferred from my PTSB CC absolutely no problem. Only took about 24hrs to show up in my FA account too.
 
Online banking with First Active E-savings and BOI current account

Hi
Just wanted to give a short account of setting up a First Active Savings Account and using it with a BOI current account.

Sent off cheque and account setup info on 14th January.
Took about two weeks to get confirmation of account being set up and details for on-line banking, but cheque was lodged dated 22nd January.

To set up my BOI current account as a payee I had to ring First Active customer support and give them the details. It appeared on-line immediately after the phone call.

To set up my first active account as a beneficiary from BOI I had to add a new beneficiary on-line and then wait from an activation code from BOI in the post.

I've done on-line transfers from both accounts into the other now and they both worked.

The whole process takes a bit of time, but so far so good.

C
 
I opened my e savings account no problems at all about three months go. But my big problem is getting money into it:eek: Despite having held a FA savings account for over ten years, I have major problems for the last two months trying to allow that account transfer into my e savings account with the result, my e savings has no money in it yet the other does but can't transfer. I phoned several times to be told they would sort it out, have filled in forms, produced passport at local branch, etc. and yet no luck. Afraid I can't be too excited about FA online banking:(
 
I can not understand why one customer has all the problems (tinkerbell) while others (like me) have none.
Do they design glitches in the SW to annoy 0.001% of their customers?

I am regularly transferring money in my web of accounts to follow rates & spread risks (includes FA regular and esavings a/c) and yet have to have a problem with transfer in & out of any accounts.

So FA online banking gets the thumb up for me..

BTW, to open FA accounts, i followed the recommended procedure that somebody posted here... basically, if you are not an existing customer and you are after their esaving a/c, open a regular saver first, and then the esaving once you are a customer. Works wonder...
 
Actually just thinking about it, there is practically no difference in investing 10k in Halifax or FA for a term of 1 yr

Take Halifax's 5.15%. This is 4.12% net (=5.15%*0.8)

Take FA. This is 5.10% payable monthly (=.425% per month)
Deduct DIRT => .0034%
Annualising => (1.0034^12-1) = 4.1572% net

i.e stick 10k into Halifax you get 10412 back at year end after tax

Stick 10k into FA you get 10415.72 back after tax
Click to expand...

Coming up with different figures here, for a 10K deposit over one year:
Halifax Interest = 409.08 net

This allows for Halifax interest being credited quarterly, so the balance will go above €10K in the first quarter and the interest payment will earn interest at 4% subsequently
 
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John J said:
Coming up with different figures here, for a 10K deposit over one year:
Halifax Interest = 409.08 net

This allows for Halifax interest being credited quarterly, so the balance will go above €10K in the first quarter and the interest payment will earn interest at 4% subsequently
Click to expand...

Whoops, didn't actually know it was credited quarterly!
 
i have a halifax current account and a first active esaver account. i can transfer money without hassle from one to the other

this morning at 8am i made a payment from my esaver account to my halifax current account. i checked my halifax account at 4 o clock and the money was there, now thats fast !!
 
Yorky said:
Apologies if this has been addressed before but am I correct in saying that as long as I withdraw the interest on the last day each month to bring the balance back down to €15k, the 5.22% AER applies?

Is it possible to have the interest paid to an account elsewhere or posted in draft form to avoid going over the threshold?
Click to expand...
Mmmm well the general thinking I believe is, that to be safe you withdraw just enough at the end of the month so that your savings+estimated interest don't exceed 15K(i.e. get ready for the interest to arrive). Though in theory it's calculated daily so even if you wait till after the interest is paid, the worst case would be that your stuck on the lower rate for as long as it takes you to move the excess above 15K to a different account.

As regards auto paying the interest elsewhere, there is no such facility available(to my knowledge). I do believe you can manually setup EFTs for a specified amount on specific dates though this would be klunky and would have to be done on a month by month basis.
 
No. The interest only becomes part of the balance when it is paid! Calculating interest daily and paying it monthly means that the balance only increases monthly.
 
If the account balance exceeds € 15,000 anytime, is the interest rate reduced for the following month, or year or for always ?.
 
Just for as long as the balance exceeds €15K (or €15,001 or whatever) as far as I know.
 
Sunday Independent to-day 2nd March in Business section page 4 under Savings - Best - ''First Active 5.1 per cent (down from 5.22 per cent).'' Is this correct? Anybody else hear this? First Active website still showing 5.22%.
 
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