Nationwide Instant Access ISA

Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution and the largest building society in the world.

What are Instant Access ISAs?

Instant access ISAs allow individuals the flexibility to withdraw tax-efficient savings as and when is necessary. Any UK taxpayer over the age of 16 years old can save up to the maximum ISA allowance.

This type of ISA allows people to pay in and withdraw money at any time throughout the financial year, which runs until 5th April each year.

Most providers will allow you to pay in and withdraw any amount you wish, and these instant access cash ISAs can often be opened with as little as £1. Some ISAs may require a higher minimum deposit to open an account, or operate a yearly withdrawal limit.

One thing to remember when choosing an ISA is that instant access cash ISAs will often have comparatively low rates of interest compared to other types of ISA. This is what you exchange in return for the flexibility and freedom of this type of account.

Nationwide Instant Access ISA Review

Nationwide offer two instant access ISA accounts:

Instant ISA Saver

Features:

• Competitive rate of interest
• Online banking, a banking app and in branch banking available
• Transfer from other nationwide ISAs and external providers are permitted anytime
• While opening online you can only transfer from a Nationwide current account or ISA but you can open in branch to pay in funds from another provider’s account
• Once you’ve opened the account, you will be able to add funds from other accounts
• Only available to FlexOne, FlexAccount, FlexDirect or FlexPlus current account customers

Flexclusive ISA

Features:

• Competitive rate of interest
• Accepts old ISA money
• Online banking, in branch banking and banking app available
• Full closure of the account or transfers to another ISA provider are allowed at any time
• When you open online you can only add funds from a Nationwide current account or instant access savings account so if you want to add funds from another provider’s account you will need to transfer in or open in branch
• Only available to FlexOne, FlexAccount, FlexDirect or FlexPlus current account customers

Advantages of an Instant Access ISA

• Access money instantly without withdrawal penalties with the option of being able to take money out whenever you want
• Flexibility on how you save whether through a lump sum, by standing order or whenever you want
• Deposit the full cash ISA allowance
• Deposit from £1 although minimum deposit levels will vary from ISA provider to ISA provider
• Transfer in other ISAs bringing all your cash ISAs together in one place
• Access the account through a range of methods e.g. Either online, mobile, in branch or by telephone or a combination of both

Disadvantages of an Instant Access ISA

The less positive aspects of cash ISAs are:

• Capped allowance rates, which cannot be exceeded
• Not all accounts accept previous-year transfers
• The accounts offering the highest interest rates only offer these for the current year’s allowance and you may need to be switch to more competitive products in later years

It is important to remember that if you make a withdrawal from a cash ISA, any money you take out will still count towards that year's cash ISA allowance. You can't replace any of the money you withdraw, so make sure you really need to before doing so