GB Bank: savings accounts, protection and how to contact it

GB Bank is a UK savings bank that you join and run online. It offers easy access savings, notice accounts and fixed rate bonds, and it does not offer a current account. Everything is done through its website and mobile app, so there are no branches to visit and no counter to pay a cheque in at.

The accounts come in three shapes, and the trade-off between them is the same one that runs through all savings: the more access you keep to your money, the less you tend to be paid for it. Easy access savings lets you take money out whenever you want. Notice accounts require you to give notice before a withdrawal. Fixed rate bonds lock your money away for a set term. The bank publishes today's rates on its own product pages, and those figures change, so the pages are the place to check them.

What follows covers each account type, who can open one, how to apply, how your money is protected, how to check the firm is genuine, and how to complain.

What GB Bank offers

GB Bank is a deposit taker. Its permission on the Financial Services Register is accepting deposits, and it appears on the Bank of England's list of banks incorporated in the UK authorised to accept deposits¹. That single permission defines what the bank can do for a consumer: it takes money in, holds it, pays interest on it and gives it back under the terms of the account. It does not lend to consumers through credit cards or personal loans, and it does not run current accounts.

The product range is savings only, in three shapes.

• Easy access savings. The bank says you can withdraw money from this account at any time without penalty or notice, and that you can move money in or out by transferring from your nominated UK bank account or by requesting withdrawals through online banking or the mobile app⁸.
• Notice accounts. The bank says you may make unlimited withdrawals subject to providing the notice period that applies to the account you opened, so the notice period is the condition that matters rather than a limit on how often you withdraw⁹.
• Fixed rate bonds. These run for a set term, and the bank's own product pages set out the terms and key product information for each one⁶.

Because the bank has no branches, its costs are lower than a branch network's, and that is the model a number of newer UK banks use. It also means the relationship is entirely digital, which suits some savers and not others. If you are weighing up where to keep your money, our guide to savings accounts sets out how the different account types compare, and the banks and building societies directory lists the firms operating in the UK market.

How the interest on these accounts works

The rates on all of these accounts change, and the bank publishes today's figures on its own product pages rather than anywhere else. What is worth understanding is how the wider market moves: the Bank of England sets the base rate for the whole of the UK, and it is the core interest rate in the economy¹¹. Savings rates tend to follow it over time, which is why a rate you see today is not a promise about next year.

The shape of the account decides how the rate behaves. An easy access account can be repriced whenever the bank chooses, so the rate you open at can fall without you doing anything. A fixed rate bond fixes the rate for the term, which cuts both ways: you know what you will be paid, and you also stay on that rate if the market moves above it. A notice account sits between the two, paying more than easy access in exchange for the notice condition.

The notice period is the term that carries the cost if you get it wrong. On a notice account, the bank says you may make unlimited withdrawals subject to providing the notice period that applies to the account you opened⁹. On a fixed rate bond, the money is committed for the term, and the bank's product pages set out the terms and key product information for each one⁶. Our guide to Bank Rate, inflation and the UK economy explains how base rate changes reach savings rates.

Who can open an account with GB Bank

The eligibility rules are set by the bank and are straightforward. For the easy access savings account, the bank says you must be 18 or over, a UK resident for tax purposes, hold a UK current account in your own name, and have a valid email address and mobile number⁴. The UK current account requirement matters: it is the account the bank links to for paying money in and taking it out, so without one you cannot run the account.

Joint accounts are allowed. The bank says all GB Bank savings accounts can be opened in sole or joint names, with no more than two account holders permitted⁵.

If you do not already hold a UK current account, that is the first thing to sort out, and it is not always a barrier. Basic bank accounts exist for people who do not have an account or cannot get a standard current account, and the nine largest banks and building societies in the UK have agreed to offer them with no monthly fees¹³. Large banks have to offer a basic bank account to individuals, and the eligibility rules are set out in the FCA handbook¹⁵. Our guide to current accounts covers how these work, and Citizens Advice explains the application process for England and Wales and for Scotland¹⁷.

How to bank with GB Bank: online and by phone

There is no branch network. The bank says its 150 day notice account and its 5 year fixed rate bond can both be managed online and through the GB Bank mobile app, and the same online and app route is how money moves in and out of the easy access account⁸. In practice that means the app or the website is the whole of your banking relationship: checking balances, moving money, giving notice on a notice account and seeing statements.

That model has real consequences worth weighing before you open anything. You need a smartphone or a computer and a reliable internet connection, and you need to be comfortable managing money without a person to speak to across a desk. Scope's guidance on managing your own money covers some of the practical adjustments that help if a disability or health condition makes online banking harder¹⁹.

It also changes how you spot a problem. Banking fraud guidance is consistent that checking the online banking security options your bank provides matters, and that if you have revealed personal information or see unrecognised activity, contacting your bank using the phone number on the back of your card or on a recent statement, not a number from a message, is the route that works²⁰. Our guide to scams and fraud sets out the warning signs in more detail.

How to open an account with GB Bank

Opening an account is an online process. The bank's product pages say you can open the easy access savings account, the 150 day notice account and the 5 year fixed rate bond online at its website⁴. For notice accounts, the bank says you provide your name, date of birth, address, email and UK mobile number, then complete the online form and transfer funds from your nominated account⁹. For fixed rate bonds, it says to complete the online form for your chosen product and to review the terms and key product information before submitting⁶.

The general shape of opening a UK bank account is the same everywhere: you fill in an application form and provide proof of identity including your full name, date of birth and address¹⁴. Having your documents ready before you start is what makes the difference between a five minute application and a stalled one.

1. Check the firm on the Financial Services Register, and confirm the website address shown there matches the site you are on¹.
2. Read the terms and key product information for the specific account, particularly the notice period on a notice account and the term on a fixed rate bond⁹.
3. Have your photo ID, proof of address and the details of your nominated UK current account to hand¹⁴.
4. Complete the online form, then transfer your opening funds from your nominated account⁹.
5. Keep the confirmation and the account terms somewhere you can find them, because the notice period and term are the conditions you will be held to.

FSCS protection for money saved with GB Bank

Eligible deposits with GB Bank are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The scheme protects up to £120,000 in total across all accounts you hold, either in your name or where you are listed as a beneficiary, per bank or banking group²². The same limit applies across all banks, building societies and credit unions authorised by the PRA and the FCA²³. GB Bank states that deposits in its easy access savings account are protected up to £120,000 per person⁸.

Two details catch people out. The second is that the limit is per person, which is why a joint account can hold more before the cap applies.

There is one important exception for large one-off sums. The scheme can protect certain qualifying temporary high balances of up to £1.4 million for six months from when the amount was first deposited, which covers situations such as money from a house sale or an inheritance sitting in an account while you decide what to do with it². That protection is time-limited and depends on the money coming from a qualifying life event, so it is not a general higher limit.

If you hold more than that with GB Bank, the excess is not covered if the bank fails. Savers who want to hold more usually spread it across banks that do not share a licence²².

If you are building up savings and want to know how much to hold in cash, Which? notes that the scheme protects up to £120,000¹¹. Our guide to ISAs covers the tax side of saving, which is a separate question from protection.

How to check GB Bank is genuine before you pay in

Impersonation is the main risk with any online-only bank, because there is no branch to walk into and no familiar shopfront to compare against. The check takes a couple of minutes and it is worth doing before you send money anywhere.

Search the Financial Services Register for companies and individuals authorised by the FCA²⁴. GB Bank appears there with firm reference number 850286, a status of Authorised, and accepting deposits among its permissions, and the entry lists the firm's website address¹. If the site you are looking at does not match that address, stop.

The second check is on the payment itself. Banks use Confirmation of Payee to check whether the name and account type you enter when setting up a new payee matches the details registered with the bank receiving the money¹². If the name does not match, that is a signal to stop and check rather than to proceed. If money does go astray, our guide to getting money back that you have sent to the wrong account explains the recovery process¹².

Complaints and where to get help

Start with the bank. If you have revealed personal information or see unrecognised activity, contact your bank using the phone number on the back of your card or on a recent statement, because that number is one you can trust²⁰. For a service complaint, put it in writing through the bank's own complaints route so there is a record of what you raised and when.

If the bank does not resolve it, the Financial Ombudsman Service is the free, independent route for complaints about UK financial firms. You can also get free, impartial guidance on money problems from MoneyHelper, and free debt advice from charities including StepChange and National Debtline. Our guide to consumer protection in UK financial services explains how the ombudsman and the compensation scheme fit together, and the debt guide covers what to do if you are struggling with repayments.

If you have been the victim of a scam, Independent Age's guidance on what to do if you have been a victim of a scam sets out the steps, including reporting it²⁰. Acting quickly matters, because the sooner a payment is reported the better the chance of recovering it.