Frequently Asked Questions
Main questions asked and our answers.
The following questions are frequently asked of us and we have provided our accompanying answers in
the hope that they may be of use to you. To view answers, please click on the appropriate question. If
you have a question that is not answered below, please
contact
our Customer Services team who will be glad to help.
Bradford & Bingley International are an offshore savings bank who have been established on the AAA rated Isle of Man since 1989 and serves many thousands of customers in more than 125 countries around the world..
Bradford & Bingley International Limited (BBI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Santander
UK which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK.
In turn, Santander
UK is part of Banco Santander S.A. of Spain, one of the world's largest banking groups. BBI places funds with Santander UK, and thus its financial standing is linked to that of Santander UK and ultimately Santander.
Depositors may wish to form their own view on the financial standing of BBI, Santander UK and the Santander group based on publicly available information, including report and accounts, obtainable by clicking here.
Santander UK has provided a guarantee that it will discharge any liabilities in the unlikely event that Bradford & Bingley International is unable to meet them itself.
We can also offer you the comfort of statutory depositor protection in the form of the Isle of Man Compensation of Depositors Regulations 2008 (as amended). We recommend that you read the scheme's details to establish how it could work for you, as restrictions apply.
Bradford & Bingley International is regulated by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission to take deposits.
You may feel reassured to know that, under Isle of Man law, private individuals have the right to refer complaints we cannot settle to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme for the Isle of Man.
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The Isle of Man has its own Depositors Compensation Scheme. Information can be found at the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission Website.
Many other offshore centres do not offer this type of safeguard.
* Customers should note that deposits made with Bradford & Bingley International Limited will not
be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme created under the UK Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000.
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Regulations in the Isle of Man require all financial institutions to carry out verification of
identity procedures for new and existing customers. Your application to open a new account should therefore
be accompanied by certain documents as detailed on our application forms to allow us to verify your
identity.
Withdrawals are not permitted from an account until the verification procedure has been completed.
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No, but any currency received that requires conversion, will be converted at applicable market rates.
Should you choose to deposit other currencies into our accounts please note that we cannot accept limits
for exchange or guarantee the value date of a conversion. At present we do not levy any charges for receiving
or converting monies although other transmitting banks may.
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Whilst non-sterling cheques or those drawn on a bank outside the UK can be accepted for deposit into
sterling denominated accounts, these will be sent to our bankers on a collection basis which means it may
be between 4 to 6 weeks before your funds can be credited to your account and start earning interest.
Any deposits by Electronic Funds Transfer will be converted to the currency of your account
immediately on receipt. The funds will be credited to your account on the same day (net of any charges)
and you will start earning interest from the next day. This method of transfer is deemed as cleared funds
and therefore no clearance period is necessary for withdrawals.
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Yes. A telephone withdrawal service is available; please contact us, so that we may forward you the
appropriate forms to complete in order to set up this service. Alternatively you can download and print
off the form on the downloads section of this website.
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For sterling denominated accounts, Bradford & Bingley International Limited can forward a
sterling cheque to yourself, your bankers or direct to a third party* on receipt of your signed
instructions by either letter or fax. You should refer to your account terms & conditions to
establish the minimum withdrawal amount. No charges are levied for this service.
* On certain accounts cheque withdrawals can only be effected by cheque payable to the account-holder(s). See individual account details for further information.
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With Electronic Funds Transfer the payment will usually arrive as cleared funds on the same day if
the remitting bank has a UK sort code. Otherwise the funds may take 3-4 working days to reach their intended
destination. However, this is dependent upon the final country involved.
Please note, Bradford & Bingley International Limited is unable to accept any responsibility for
any delays incurred while the funds are being transferred through the international banking system.
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Click here
for a full list of charges.
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Funds deposited in your account will start to earn interest with effect from: the day after deposit
for cash deposits and deposits made by Electronic Funds Transfer; the fourth working day after deposit
for sterling cheque deposits drawn* on a bank in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man; the day after
clearing, which can be several weeks after deposit, for deposits made by cheques not in sterling or
not drawn on a bank in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. YoungSave account holders will start to
earn interest after 1 working day for cheque deposits.
Interest is payable up to and including the day of withdrawal. Interest is payable either once a
year, once a quarter, once a month or on account closure depending on the class of account opened (see individual account
details for annual and monthly interest rates). The payment of interest on a monthly basis is
dependent on the maintenance of a certain minimum balance (see individual account details).
* only available to sterling denominated accounts.
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If you state in your correspondence that a ‘transfer’ is to be actioned the Company will
deem that you wish to do this by Electronic Funds Transfer. Providing the sum requested meets the
minimum required for this method (GBP1,000 by CHAPS, GBP250 for SWIFT) the transfer will normally be
actioned within one working day or, for sums over GBP100,000, the following working day.
This ensures that monies arrive in your account by the most rapid method possible. Any charges will
be debited to your account without referral. If you require a transfer to be actioned by cheque you must
make this clear in your instructions. Please note that cheque withdrawals are only available for
sterling denominated accounts.
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As the Isle of Man has its own jurisdiction the executor/beneficiary of an account held in a sole
name would need to apply to the Isle of Man General Registry to obtain probate. This may involve the
estate in expense. Any account held in more than one name will be transferred into the name(s) of the
survivor(s) on receipt of a certified copy of the Death Certificate without the need for probate.
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If you are classed as a non-EU resident for tax purposes it may be beneficial to ‘Bed &
Breakfast’ your account in order to capitalise all accrued interest before you return to the
EU. On receipt of your instructions your deposit account may be closed on a certain date and a new
account opened the following day. EU residents must consider the implications of the European Union
Savings Tax Directive (EUSTD or EUSD). For more information
visit the EUSTD section
of our website.
Please note, we are not qualified to give specific tax related advice and recommend that you contact
a professional tax consultant who can advise on the best course of action for your particular
circumstances.
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Please contact us straight away. We aim to provide a high quality service, and if we haven’t got
something right then we would like to know to enable us to address the issue. If you do have a complaint,
download our customer complaints leaflet,
which explains in detail our complaints procedure. Copies are also available on request from our Customer
Services Team. If, in the unlikely event we are unable to satisfy your complaint, you have the right it
refer it to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme for the Isle of Man.
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