They are accounts charities can use to earn interest on money they don’t need to keep in a current account for day-to-day expenses. Most charity current accounts do not pay interest on positive balances, so if you keep surplus cash in your charity current account you are probably missing out on a simple way of making your money work harder and earning your charity extra revenue.

A charity savings account is very simple in that it allows you to set aside excess money in your charity to keep it separate from the account you use for everyday income and expenditure and to earn interest on surplus money which would otherwise earn little or no interest in your current account. A charity savings account doesn’t usually come with a payment card, cheque book, overdraft or other facilities a current account may offer.

There are three common types of savings account:

Fixed term bonds – These allow you to set aside a one-off sum for a specified length of time and earn an agreed rate of interest during that period. However, with most fixed term bonds, you cannot withdraw your money during the term of the bond, so you should only deposit funds you won’t need to access during that time.

Notice accounts – These allow you to deposit funds whenever you wish and to earn an agreed variable rate of interest on your balance. However, you can only make withdrawals after giving the required notice. For example, with a 40-Day Notice account you would have to request a withdrawal 40 days before you needed to have the money. These accounts offer more flexibility than fixed term bonds and usually pay a slightly lower interest rate as a result.

Instant access accounts – These offer the greatest flexibility as you can withdraw your money at any time. However, these typically pay the lowest rates of interest of the three main types of charity savings accounts.

Simply head to our Charity Savings Accounts page, and once you have decided which account you would like to open, follow the on-screen instructions to be directed to the online application form hosted by our partner DocuSign. If you are not able to complete the online form, please contact us.

We offer three types of savings accounts: Fixed Term Bonds, Notice Accounts, and a Notice Tracker Account, which tracks the Bank of England Base Rate.

We accept applications from the following charity types:

• Charitable companies (limited by guarantee), registered on the Charities Commission

• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs), registered on the Charities Commission and Companies House

• Excepted charities, not on the Charities Commission but still regulated by them

• Exempt charities, not on the Charities Commission that still comply with charity law

Charitable companies and CIOs must have a minimum of two trustees, and CIOs must also have a minimum of one director. For all charity types, the governing document must not be a Trust Deed, and all parties must be UK residents over the age of 18.

Charitable Trusts are normally governed by a Trust Deed and can often be more complex, and United Trust Bank are not currently accepting any applications from charities governed by a Trust Deed.

Having a charity savings account brings many benefits. As well as earning your charity additional revenue, it can help you plan for future expenses, such as equipment upgrades, marketing campaigns or hiring extra staff. It can also create an emergency fund for unexpected expenses, help future credit applications and can show potential investors and partners that you are a credible charity taking your long term financial health seriously.

A charity savings account is a great way to make your money work harder and earn extra revenue, so don’t delay and apply for your account now.

This decision should be based on your long-term goals and factor in any immediate needs. If you have funds spare that you can afford to set aside for a fixed period of time, a Fixed Rate Bond is an excellent way to grow those funds with a higher interest rate. For more flexibility, a Notice Account may be more attractive as it will allow you to withdraw funds provided you give the required notice period.

The minimum initial investment is usually £5,000 per account and the maximum is £1,000,000. If you wish to deposit more than this, please click here to find out how we can help you.

Yes, all charity savings are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000. To find out more, please click here.

There is no limit on how many savings accounts you open with United Trust Bank, so you can choose to spread your funds over multiple accounts if you wish, both with our fixed rate and notice products.

Yes, though please note you need to have a different email address for each charity.

At the time of making your application, any named signatory or trustee must be an individual who permanently resides in the UK for tax purposes, and we reserve the right to decline an application if any signatory or named trustee is resident outside of the UK.

When submitting your application, you will need to provide details of your charity, including information on the charity’s activities, and any individuals you want to operate as signatories on your account. If your charity operates in, or benefits other countries, you will need to provide further information on the overseas activities.

If your charity is also a limited company, you will need to provide details of at least one director and any shareholders (if applicable) that own 25% or more of the shares (irrespective of the share class) in your company.

We will require a copy of your charity’s governing document, and for those not registered on the Charities Commission, this must be certified by someone outside of your organisation (for example, a solicitor, the post office, or an FCA-registered broker).

Whilst we run an electronic identity check upon receipt of the application, we may on occasion require ID documents or further information to confirm an individual’s identity.

As part of our customer due diligence, there may be instances when we need clarification on the information you have provided. This doesn’t mean your application has not been accepted, but it may delay the account being opened. It is therefore important that any information you provide is up-to-date and accurate.

We are working on an online banking service for our business and charity customers, and once this is available, we will invite you to register. In the meantime, you can manage your account by email, phone and post.

For our fixed savings accounts, when we have received the full pledged deposit we will send a confirmation to you. For our notice accounts, we will send you a receipt with each deposit you make.

If you register a mobile number with us as part of your application, we will send you a text message each time you send us funds – regardless of the type of account you hold.

We are now responding to all audit requests through Confirmation.com. Your auditor can register for the service online at www.confirmation.com.

Statements are sent annually, either on the anniversary of the fixed term’s start date or, for our notice accounts, after interest is applied on 31 October each year.

Should you prefer more frequent statements, please email [email protected] or call us on 020 7190 5599 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, where our team will be happy to help you.

We do not permit early withdrawals from our Fixed Term Bonds unless under exceptional circumstances, and entirely at our discretion. However, should there be an immediate need for funds, please email [email protected] detailing the reason funds are required. We may request supporting documents in order to make an informed decision.

For our Charity Notice Accounts, you are allowed to withdraw up to 20% of your balance penalty-free and without notice per 12-month period.

If you want to add or remove a signatory on your account, you will need to complete a new mandate found under the ‘Change of Charity Signatory Form’ here. The form can be sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Deposits, One Ropemaker Street, London, EC2Y 9AW. Please ensure any signatories to be removed also sign the mandate, otherwise we will not be able to remove them. Meeting minutes confirming a signatory’s departure or Deeds of Resignation/Retirement are also acceptable.

If we are not able to confirm a new signatory’s identity electronically, we will ask you for a copy of their ID. We will let you know when we have updated the signatories.

We will both write to you and email you (if you have an email address registered with us) approximately two weeks before your account is due to mature, outlining your options for reinvestment.

It is important that you provide your instructions before the maturity date to secure any preferential existing customer rate you are offered. If we do not receive instructions by the maturity date, your funds will be transferred to a holding account paying just 0.10% AER gross, where they will remain for a maximum of 28 days before being returned to the nominated bank account we hold on file for you.

DocuSign offers an easy way to sign agreements at any time, cutting out the need for paper and automating the process by connecting it to the systems businesses are already using. The aim is to make the process of completing agreements quicker, less expensive and less prone to errors. DocuSign uses e-signature technology to help organisations connect and automate how they prepare, sign and manage agreements.

DocuSign is used in over 180 countries and by more than a billion users worldwide, including many of the top financial companies.

The application process can be broken down into four easy steps:

Step 1

You select the product you want and click on the ‘Apply for your Charity Account’ button.

Step 2

You complete the application form in full via our partner DocuSign, ensuring the information you provide is up-to-date. You will then have the opportunity to upload your governing documents, along with any other documents we require (depending on your charity type).

Step 3

When you have uploaded your documents and completed the form, an email is automatically sent to all named parties for them to review and sign the application as well.

Step 4

Once all named parties have signed the form, your application is submitted to us for review. At this stage, if we require any further information or clarification from you we will let you know by email.

Once the application is completed, you will have 30 days to arrange for all the signatories to review and sign the form before it is submitted to us. We will send reminders by email every 7 days if we have not received the required signatures, and if we have still not received all signatures after 30 days, the application will be closed and you will need to begin a new one.

We require certain information in order to satisfy our due diligence process, so that we can, where necessary, carry out individual checks to ensure the details you provide in your application are accurate and up-to-date.