The Charity Sector

As a firm we represent many charities and societies where their biggest frustration is the interest they can earn on their hard earned savings.

We believe that there are up to 20 banks offering current accounts for charities with the majority extending their facilities to clubs. However welcoming they might well be, by and large the interest that they will pay on deposits really is hardly worth having. Some will not pay any interest at all on deposits and at best you might receive 0.1% (CAF) or 0.3% with the Leeds Building Society. The bank’s argument is often that these organisations have regular cash transactions which apparently make the operational costs higher than if it were just a personal savings account.

Treasurers of these organisations should now be aware of the Virgin Instant Access Charity Deposit Account which pays 1.65% on £1 or more. In my opinion they have cleverly taken the view that as the charity sector is basically neglected by the banks, they will step in and offer an exciting and refreshing alternative for those in the sector. The account can be managed by post or through their branch network.

I rather hope that this initiative which Virgin Money has taken could be the start of other exciting measures which seriously challenge the practices of the established banking sector.