First Active e-savings account

Thanks for that. The article is therefore misleading stating ''down from 5.22 per cent.''
 
Just spent an interesting half hour reading this thread. Am I right in the following observations:
1. I should invest no more than €14.5K
2. I should open a regular savings account first?

Is there anything else which I should have taken note of?
 
I calculate that you can lodge c. €14,937 and then withdraw the monthly interest and never breach the €15K limit. My calculations are as follows:

Nominal annual rate 5.1%
Daily interest equivalent 5.22% / 365 = 0.013699% (366 days in 2008 but let's ignore the leap day)
31 days in the longest month means 31 x 0.013699% = 0.424669% interest in a month

So if €15K = 100.424669% then 100% =~ €14,937.

Maybe €14,900 just to be safe?
 
Sorry for this off-topic rant but is setting up an account with FA appearing to be way more hassle than it's worth for anyone else?? Almost 3 weeks since I sent my application form for the e-savings account, I finally get confirmation of the whereabouts of my lodgement cheque but still no sign of my original documents I sent with the application. Also, having previously set up a regular savers account with FA, I find their login pages to be so much more awkward to use than that of any other online service...so much so that I can't access my online account now because I seem to be entering details wrong, which never happens me?? Fair enough I may have just taken on board more usernames and passwords than my memoery can take but I blame FA for this series of annoying events. That extra fraction of a % just really doesn't seem worth it anymore. Also, the receptionist in my local branch is possibly the most ignorant person I've ever met. Rant over.....
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not experience a period of roughly the same time before you received confirmation of your account being set up, and consider withdrawing your application during this period as a result of this. Also, did the ambiguous responses from FA staff regarding the change of interest rate/balance threshold not create an air of doubt as to how trustworthy FA were. My only other problem was the login page, which I really do find more awkward than that of any other online service...I don't know why but it just is. As regards the receptionist, I wouldn't publicly name the branch but you know who you are :p. I suppose I've got my end result in that the accounts are set up and earning a decent rate of interest...if only I could access them online.........
 
trebor, like clubman i didnt experience any of the issues you mentioned. i first set up a regular savings a/c (which required a visit to branch) and then set up my esavings a/c online. the documents arrived within a few days and i popped the cheque in the post. painless enough really.

regarding the issues with the online service, are you referring to the amount of info required to login ie. customer number, pin number & password? I suppose it is quite a bit of info to memorise but again, i dont find any difficulty with it and if anything, it adds some extra security to the online service.
 
I opened my esavings a/c with a lodgement of €670. My online a/c shows a balance of €670 on Feb 8th and then interest of €1.35 paid on Feb 29th? Is this the correct amount of interest?

Based on clubmans calculations above, and a daily rate of 0.013699%, & having the money in the a/c for 22 days in february, i reckon I should have got:
€670 x 0.013699% x 22days = €2.019 or €1.62 after DIRT. So i was underpaid. I know it's only a few cent but can somebody confirm that my calculations are correct?
 
Thanks for that. The article is therefore misleading stating ''down from 5.22 per cent.''
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Maybe they meant to say ''down from 5.5 per cent.'' which is what is was when this account was launched.
 
sapmanie said:
Maybe they meant to say ''down from 5.5 per cent.'' which is what is was when this account was launched.
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Huh? The very first post in this thread talks about the new eSavings account launching with an AER of 5.22%. It was never 5.5%.
 
Huh? The very first post in this thread talks about the new eSavings account launching with an AER of 5.22%. It was never 5.5%.
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That's strange - 5.5% has been applied to my a/c since opened, until February this year where it went down to 5.1%

Perhaps I'll just keep quiet about that so! ;-)
 
Can't say I'd any problems setting up an eSavings either (Applied near the end of February this year) - applied online, received / returned the application pack about a week after, week after that I received everything back (Original documents, account number, etc)... Just waiting on the PIN code to arrive now.
 
Hi - several questions on this that I hope people might be able to address:

1) I see a number of people are using this in conjunction with a FA Regular Savers account - how are you siphoning money from the eSaver account into the Regular account if you can't set up a Standing Order in an eSaver account? Or is the money coming from a third account?

2) Just to be completely clear - can cash be withdrawn from this account through an ATM or must it go to a high-street bank account account first?

3) Are transfers with other banks easily facilitated? I know in theory they're meant to be but practice can be different (I'd want to be able to transfer money over from a Bank of Ireland current account).

4) I know a number of institutions are guaranteed protection by the governments, etc. in case of collapse. I can't see anything clear on First Active, only speculation (e.g. from here) Does anyone have anything more concrete?

5) With most people trying to keep under the 15k limit, are people spreading remainders over multiple accounts online? Probably a bit too broad of a question, but I was thinking of diversify and putting about 14.6k here and the remainder in Northern Rock, which has Bank of England protection. Is this a reasonably common position to take?
 
drwho said:
1) I see a number of people are using this in conjunction with a FA Regular Savers account - how are you siphoning money from the eSaver account into the Regular account if you can't set up a Standing Order in an eSaver account? Or is the money coming from a third account?
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Can't say what others are doing but I consider the eSavings complimentary to the Regular Savings. The eSavings provides a means in which to transfer funds out of the Regular Savings online as opposed to ATM or cheque(i.e. from Regular Savings -> eSavings -> External account. Also it doesn't hurt that it offers one of the best rates for on demand deposit accounts. Your correct in that the eSavings doesn't facilitate standing orders. I imagine most if not all of us having SOs from a third account
drwho said:
2) Just to be completely clear - can cash be withdrawn from this account through an ATM or must it go to a high-street bank account account first?
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Regarding the eSavings.... mmm you can definetly do this online(call that seems to take < 5 minutes to add an external account) and then you can select this account for transfers anytime you login.
For the Regular Savings your restricted to the ATM or a bank cheque unless you transfer it(probably online for convenience) to another FA account that is either a FA account that allows ATM access or a FA account(like the eSavings) that can transfer it to an external account that allows ATM access(like your current account that you may have with bank X).
drwho said:
3) Are transfers with other banks easily facilitated? I know in theory they're meant to be but practice can be different (I'd want to be able to transfer money over from a Bank of Ireland current account).
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Yes speaking from a purely online perspective it works very well. To my knowledge transfers to and from FA only take 3 working days max. If in doubt simply do a test transfer of 1 euro.
drwho said:
4) I know a number of institutions are guaranteed protection by the governments, etc. in case of collapse. I can't see anything clear on First Active, only speculation (e.g. from here) Does anyone have anything more concrete?
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Unfortunately I don't have anything more solid. Aren't FA owned / part of the Royal Bank Of Scotland Group and thus would use the British deposit protection scheme?(which is better than the Irish one)
drwho said:
5) With most people trying to keep under the 15k limit, are people spreading remainders over multiple accounts online? Probably a bit too broad of a question, but I was thinking of diversify and putting about 14.6k here and the remainder in Northern Rock, which has Bank of England protection. Is this a reasonably common position to take?
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Yes diversity is generally encouraged. The deposit protection scheme only covers you for a certain amount per bank(not account as far as I know) so this would help maximise your total deposit protection. A good number of people on AAM probably have contact with half a dozen banks at the very least so this is hardly a rare practise;). Apart from the protection it sets you up nicely to shift funds to whatever bank offers the best rates should rates start fluctuating. Last but not least it gives you the opportunity to take advantage of banded rates... e.g. FA offer 5.22% for the theoratically first 15K so max this out at your discretion... next port of call would be Halifax Flexisaver for the next 10K and so on...
 
posted off my application ages ago in their prepaid envelope. Never heard anything back. Rang them and they said they never received it. Thank god i only included a postal order for €1 in there but a bit concerned as to where the envelope containing a lot of my personal details ended up.
 
gribr said:
posted off my application ages ago in their prepaid envelope. Never heard anything back. Rang them and they said they never received it. Thank god i only included a postal order for €1 in there but a bit concerned as to where the envelope containing a lot of my personal details ended up.
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well that's a bit worrying. have you heard anything since? I registered a few months ago and it took a while to get set up with activation number etc but eventually it was sorted out.
 
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