Traditionally we think of the ISA season running March to April, and we do see a lot of activity during this time - but the opportunity to talk ISAs is very much all year round. Especially with the easing of lockdown and more people visiting agencies – it’s a chance to talk face to face and have some of those conversations that haven’t been possible recently.

Why it’s a good time to talk ISA’s

Thanks to working from home, reduced overheads and fewer opportunities to spend money during the pandemic (if you ignore all those online deliveries!) many people have found themselves with increased savings.

Office of National Statistics data shows the ratio of household savings to disposable income more than tripled at its peak in Q2 2020 and is still more than double in Q1 2021 compared to before the pandemic.

The ISA transfer market

We touched on the ISA transfer market in the February article and this continues to offer a big opportunity for us, as customers who have Cash ISAs with other providers may benefit from moving them all to us.

We’ve seen £912m in ISA new money come into YBS so far this year, which just goes to show how successful this year’s tax year end and new tax year ISA campaigns have been. Rewarding loyalty has also proven to be very popular as our Loyalty Six Access Saver ISA now holds balances of £633.6m after less than two months of being on sale. £186.3m of which is new money from outside of YBS, which further shows that even customers with long term relationships with us hold significant balances elsewhere.

USP – reasons to consolidate

1. You can have all your cash ISA’s in one place – it makes it easier to keep a track of your savings
2. Reduce your admin – receive only one statement or view them all online using our savings app. More info on the app can be found here
3. It may be a better rate – especially if the rate has deteriorated elsewhere over time
4. It’s a simple transfer process – you can even transfer an ISA with another provider at the same time as opening a new one
5. If you haven’t used your ISA allowance this tax year you can still top-up to £20k
6. You can transfer all or some of your money saved in previous tax years to us, at any time, without affecting your annual allowance (subject to your account terms)
7. We’re here to make it as easy as possible – pop in or give us a call with your providers paperwork, we can help complete the forms when opening the account and then take care of the rest.

The ISA transfer process – a reminder

The process is fairly straightforward and can be completed as part of the application process in the agency, or online. It’s really quick if the provider is on the electronic system, it can be just a few days but may take longer if they aren’t on the system or there are any queries. The customer can request one transfer at application and then more once they have joined. You just need one form per transfer.

Just remember to send the 1054 Transfer Request form FAO of the ISA Team at Head Office for us to progress manual ISA transfers.

For agencies currently using the telephone process due to lockdown, it’s just a simple form for customers to return, which can easily be completed in 5 minutes. The process takes just 15 days if there are no queries in this case.

What next?

The New Tax Year ISA campaign focused on acquiring new customers as well as on the opportunity of encouraging customers who already hold ISAs elsewhere to move them to YBS.

Following on from this in June we’re contacting customers who have taken a new ISA product with us and asking them to add new funds into their ISA by consolidating ISAs held with other providers. This will bring new money into the business and maximise on the previous campaign.

Later in August we’ll be contacting customers who have taken out an ISA in previous tax years with the same consolidation message as well.

Remember – you’ll earn commission if the account is owned by your agency irrespective of how the transfer is done, whether it’s in the agency or online.

What do you need to do?

• Talk to your team and encourage them to have these conversations with customers who already have an ISA with us.
• Make sure your team feel comfortable and have the knowledge they need to make these conversations happen.

It's a great time to be having conversations around ISA consolidation - helping reinforce these messages when they land in the next few months. It also gives you a head start talking to customers as we see more return to our agency network, looking for that personal touch and support.