Since the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, some banks and building societies in the UK have told their customers living in certain EU countries that they will no longer be permitted to hold their UK-based accounts.
We realise that this could affect your clients’ ability to continue holding their NS&I accounts. This is because they need to have a UK bank or building society account to continue to operate an account with NS&I.
We’re not planning to close their NS&I accounts, but we do urge you to check that it’s still practical for them to continue holding their accounts with us.
Without a UK bank or building society account, we won’t be able to accept or make any payments to them, including their monthly interest payments. This is covered in the customer agreement (terms and conditions) for their NS&I account.
What you need to do
First check whether your clients living in EU countries can still hold the UK bank or building society account that we have on record for them. If they can, they don’t need to do anything else.
But if their provider plans to close their account, or has already closed their account, they can either:
- let us know details of another bank or building society account they hold in the UK
- or, if they don’t have access to another UK account, consider closing their NS&I account while it’s still practical for them to do so
We understand that this might be worrying news for your clients who live in EU countries, so if you have any questions or concerns please call us on 0800 092 1228 and we’ll be happy to help.