New guidelines promise to speed up ISA transfers

by Gill Montia

Story link: New guidelines promise to speed up ISA transfers

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has issued new guidance on the transfer of funds from Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs).

Consumers have long been complaining that they are losing interest as a result of delays in transfers and the new regulations should reduce the time taken to complete the process.

The BBA has joined forces with the Building Societies Association (BSA) and the Tax Incentivised Savings Association to increase the amount of information shared between ISA providers.

The initiative, together with improvements to the electronic methods by which transfers are made, should speed up the transfer of cash ISAs.

Under exiting regulations, ISA providers have been allowed up to 30 days to transfer an account.

No new deadline has been set but the BSA believes that delays will be reduced by a reasonable degree.

Investors are free to transfer their ISAs from one provider to another whenever they wish.

However, subscriptions to a stocks and shares ISAs can only be transferred to another stocks and shares ISA, whereas subscriptions to a cash ISA can be transferred to another cash ISA, or to a stocks and shares ISA.