Marcus by Goldman Sachs: savings accounts and what it offers

Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a UK savings brand you open and run online, rather than a bank with branches. It offers consumer savings accounts, including easy access accounts you can take money out of when you need it and fixed term accounts where the rate is set for a period. The current rates and terms are published on its own site.

The brand sits inside the ordinary UK savings market, which covers a wide range of accounts including ISAs, instant access and fixed term options¹. Marcus accounts are opened and managed directly rather than through a branch network, which is the model most readers will recognise from app-based providers.

The name on the register is not the name on the app. Readers searching for Goldman Sachs International Bank are usually looking for Marcus, and the two are the same firm: one is the legal entity, the other is the brand it uses for UK consumer savings.

What Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers

Marcus is a savings brand, and the accounts it offers sit inside the ordinary UK savings market. That market covers a wide range of accounts, including ISAs, instant access and fixed term options¹. Marcus accounts are opened and managed directly rather than through a branch network, which is the model most readers will recognise from app-based providers.

The Bank of England sets Bank Rate, described as the rate of interest it pays to high street banks that hold money with it, which in turn influences their own rates⁵. That is the mechanism behind the interest paid on variable savings accounts generally, and it is why the rate on an easy access account can move while a fixed rate does not.

For context on how people use savings, NS&I describes an emergency fund as money set aside for the unexpected, and it is the reason many savers hold part of their money in an account they can reach quickly⁶. Marcus accounts are one of the places that money can sit.

Marcus is not the only savings brand in the market, and it is not a current account provider in the everyday sense. If what you need is an account for wages, bills and a debit card, that is a different product type, covered in current accounts.

Savings with Marcus: the accounts and how they work

The savings market splits into a few recognisable shapes, and Marcus operates within them. Accounts generally fall into ISAs, instant access and fixed term options¹. The distinction matters because it decides how quickly you can get your money and whether the interest rate is fixed.

Cash ISAs are one of four ISA types, alongside stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs and lifetime ISAs⁷. A cash ISA is the version that behaves like a savings account, with the tax treatment that comes with the ISA wrapper. If you are weighing up whether to use the ISA wrapper or an ordinary account, the ISAs guide sets out how the four types differ.

Fixed term accounts pay a rate for a set period, and the trade-off is access: money is tied up for the term. Instant access accounts let you take money out when you need it, which is why they are the usual home for an emergency fund⁶. Marcus offers both shapes of account, and the current rates and terms are published on its own site rather than here.

One practical point applies across all savings accounts: the interest rate on a variable account is not guaranteed to stay where it is. Bank Rate influences what banks pay savers⁵, so a change in Bank Rate is the usual reason an easy access rate moves.

Lending under the Marcus name: what its credit permissions cover

The firm's FCA permissions include entering into a regulated credit agreement as lender, excluding high-cost short-term credit, bill of sale agreements and home collected credit, entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender, and accepting deposits². Those are the activities the firm is authorised to carry out.

Permissions are not a product list. A firm can hold a permission and not currently sell that product to consumers, and the register entry does not say what is on sale today. Anyone wanting to know whether a loan or mortgage is available under the Marcus name needs to check the firm's own website, because the register entry alone cannot answer it.

Where a firm does lend, the rules that apply are set out in the Mortgages and Home Finance: Conduct of Business sourcebook, which covers regulated mortgage contracts including first and second charge mortgages and bridging loans, equity release products, home purchase plans, and sale and rent back agreements⁸. Lending to individuals, as the Bank of England measures it, consists of sterling lending secured on dwellings, meaning mortgages, and sterling consumer credit to UK-resident individuals⁹.

If you are comparing borrowing rather than saving, the loans guide and the mortgages guide cover how each market works and what lenders assess.

Who can open a Marcus account

Marcus accounts are consumer savings accounts, and the eligibility rules that apply to savings accounts generally are the ones to check. Age rules vary by product: for a Junior ISA, children aged 16 or 17 can open their own account, while for children under 16 only a parent or legal guardian can open one¹⁰. That is the pattern for accounts aimed at children, and it shows why the age rule is product-specific rather than brand-wide.

For adult savings accounts, the practical requirements are the usual ones: you need to be able to prove who you are and where you live, and you need a UK bank account to move money in and out. Basic bank accounts, which can receive wages, salary, benefits and tax credits directly and allow bills to be paid by direct debit, are the fallback for anyone who cannot get a standard current account¹¹.

If you are opening an account for someone else, or helping a relative manage their money, there are limits on what you can do on their behalf. The Scope guidance on managing money for someone else covers how third party arrangements work, and banks are expected to offer a third party mandate so someone can operate an account on another person's behalf¹².

Banking with Marcus online and through the app

Marcus is an online operation. Most banks have their own smartphone and tablet apps, available from the Google Play Store for Android devices and the App Store for Apple devices, which let you check your balance and send payments once online banking is set up¹³. That is the model to expect: an account opened on a website, then run through an app or a browser.

Applications for bank accounts are generally made by completing an application form online, in person or by phone¹⁴. For an online-only provider, the online route is the one that applies, and identity checks happen as part of that process.

Older customers and anyone less confident online can get help with the basics. Age UK publishes guidance on online banking for people getting to grips with it¹³, and Scope covers managing your own money where a disability or health condition affects how you do it¹¹. Neither replaces the provider's own support, but both explain the mechanics in plain terms.

How to open a Marcus account or move savings to it

Opening an account is a short process, and moving money in is usually a bank transfer from an existing account. The steps below are the general ones for opening a savings account and switching where you already hold the money.

1. Check the firm on the FCA Register using reference 124659, and confirm the website address matches https://www.marcus.co.uk/².
2. Complete the application online, providing identity and address details¹⁴.
3. Move money in by transfer from your existing bank account.
4. If you are moving an ISA, instruct the transfer through the new provider rather than withdrawing the money yourself.

That last point matters. For an ISA, the rules provide that on the account investor's instructions, the account or agreed parts of it shall be transferred to another account manager in accordance with the regulations¹⁵. Withdrawing the money and paying it in yourself can use up your ISA allowance for the year, so the transfer route is the one that preserves it.

For ordinary current accounts, switching is done by applying for an account with a new bank or building society, which then moves your accounts and payments for you¹. If you are closing an old account yourself rather than using a switch service, the standard advice is to open the new account before closing the old one, cancel or move standing orders and direct debits, return unused cheques and cut up cards, and leave enough money to cover uncleared cheques if you are transferring a balance¹⁶.

Spotting the genuine Marcus: website, register entry and scam checks

Marcus has been impersonated before. A clone site using the Marcus name was the subject of an FCA warning published on 28 May 2021, and the site was taken down by 11 June 2021¹⁷. Clone sites copy the look of a real provider's pages and take deposits that never reach the real firm.

The first check is the register. The FCA advises consumers to check that contact details match those listed on its Firm Checker, to avoid scammers pretending to be a real firm¹⁸. For Marcus, the register entry gives the firm reference number 124659 and the website address https://www.marcus.co.uk/².

The second check is the domain. A recently registered website can indicate that it is a scam, and domain registration dates can be looked up with a tool such as who.is¹⁹. A domain registered weeks ago is not the domain of a bank incorporated in 1973³.

Other checks are worth knowing. Get Safe Online's "Check a website" tool can be used to check whether a website might be a scam²², and the ScamAdviser website can help detect whether scam websites, numbers or bank accounts are legitimate²⁰. Turning on 2-step verification adds an extra layer of security to any account holding your personal or financial information²². Scam emails often contain account numbers and IDs designed to look convincing, so check anything quoted against your own records¹⁹.

If you think you have fallen for a scam, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud²³. The scams and fraud guide covers the reporting routes in more detail.

Complaints about Marcus and where to get help

If something goes wrong, the firm has to be given the chance to put it right first. The Financial Ombudsman Service's own guidance is to talk to your lender or broker, make a formal complaint to them, and contact the ombudsman if you are still unhappy after their final response²⁴.

The ombudsman can look at complaints about bank accounts and bank cards, insurance for your home, car or travel, and problems with loans²⁵. It also resolves complaints about issues such as account closures, disputed transactions, IT failures, and problems with switching services²⁶. For savings specifically, it handles complaints about individual savings accounts⁷.

The volume of complaints gives a sense of scale. The ombudsman recorded 237,499 banking complaints in the year from 9 July 2024 to 8 July 2025, a figure that includes complaints from outside the UK²⁷. In the first quarter of 2026/27 it opened 2,103 complaints about personal loans²⁸, and in 2025/26 it opened 22,783 about credit cards²⁹. International transfers drew 101 complaints in the first quarter of 2025/26³⁰ and 93 new complaints in the fourth quarter of 2024/25³¹.

Complaints about savings products can also involve the tax wrapper. The ombudsman handles complaints about ISAs, including lifetime ISAs³². Where a complaint is about a firm that has since stopped trading, the ombudsman's compulsory jurisdiction covers certain complaints against firms and businesses that were firms at the time of the events complained about³³.

Free, impartial help is available. The ombudsman's service is free to consumers³⁴, and it can help people with complaints about claims management companies³⁴. If a complaint is really about debt rather than a savings account, debt advice charities are the right route, and the debt guide sets out the options.

How money held with Marcus is protected

Deposits with UK banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which the Bank of England explains as the scheme that protects money held with authorised firms³⁵. Goldman Sachs International Bank appears on the Bank of England's list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits, as at 1 September 2026⁴, which is the status that brings deposits inside the scheme.

The limit is per person, per firm, and it applies across every brand trading under the same licence. That is why the brand question matters: money held under one firm's authorisation counts together, however many trading names it uses. The FCA Register lists Marcus by Goldman Sachs as a trading name of Goldman Sachs International Bank², so savings held with Marcus are held with that firm.

Not every savings provider works the same way. NS&I is backed by HM Treasury and protects 100% of savings, unlike other financial providers³⁶. That is a different protection model from the FSCS limit that applies to banks, and it is the reason NS&I is often described separately from the rest of the market.

If a firm fails, the FSCS publishes guidance on what to do as a victim of fraud and how claims work³⁷. The consumer protection guide covers how the scheme, the ombudsman and the regulator fit together.