Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings review

Find out how the Active Savings product from Hargreaves Lansdown works and how you can use it to manage several savings accounts in one place.

Avatar

By

Matthew Boyle

Updated

Fact checked
No reviews yet. Write a review

Hargreaves Lansdown may be primarily known as an investment management platform, but you can also put cash into a savings account using its “Active Savings” product.

What kind of savings accounts does Hargreaves Lansdown offer?

Hargreaves Lansdown offers a product called Active Savings, which allows you to choose between several savings accounts in one platform. These accounts are offered by other banks that are partnering with Hargreaves Lansdown. Using Active Savings, you can move your money between these accounts effortlessly, without having to complete a lengthy application process each time.

Each banking partner has Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) cover up to £85,000. That means that if that the bank or building society holding your funds goes bust, the FSCS promises to compensate you up to that limit.

Hargreaves Lansdown doesn’t charge its Active Savings customers. Instead, it charges its partnering banks. This may mean the interest rates offered are lower than what you’d get by opening an account with the banks directly.

At the moment, the platform offers cash ISAs, instant access accounts, limited access accounts and accounts with fixed terms of up to five years to choose from. There are Sharia-compliant accounts available too.

How can I open an Active Savings account?

You can apply to open an Active Savings account via the Hargreaves Lansdown website. To apply, you’ll need to share some basic personal and financial details. You’ll also have to nominate the current account you want to make deposits from.

If you already have a Hargreaves Lansdown investment account, there’s no need to fill out a separate application. Just head to the Active Savings tab on the Hargreaves Lansdown website.

Once your account has been created, you’ll make a deposit from your nominated current account into Hargreaves Lansdown’s “cash hub”. This is essentially a holding account, from which you can transfer your savings to any of Hargreaves Lansdown’s partner accounts.

To withdraw your savings or move it to another account, you’ll first have to transfer it back into the “cash hub”. Funds will earn 0% interest in the “cash hub”, so there’s no benefit to keeping money there for too long.

Pros and cons of an Active Savings account

Pros

  • You can open an account with as little as £1.
  • Choose between several savings account providers partnering with Hargreaves Lansdown.
  • Switch your money from one partner to another without any paperwork or identity checks.

Cons

  • You may get a better interest rate by going directly to the partnering banks.

Customer service information for Hargreaves Lansdown

Email support
Telephone support
In-app or live chat
Contact form
Branch support

Our verdict: Is Hargeaves Lansdown’s Active Savings worth it?

This product gives you the flexibility to easily move your money to a savings account with a better rate.

However, you’ll often receive a lower interest rate compared to what you’d get by applying directly with the partnering banks.

If you’re happy to sacrifice some interest for this added convenience, you’ll be pleased with Hargreaves Lansdown’s Active Savings product.

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.

More guides on Finder

Go to site