Newbury Building Society Junior Cash ISA

A Newbury Building Society Junior Cash ISA is a tax-free savings account for a child under 18, held in the child's name and managed by an adult with parental responsibility. Interest is exempt from income tax, and the account can be opened and operated in branch or by post¹. It is one of the ISAs offered by Newbury Building Society, a building society with ten branches².

The account is built to be left alone. No withdrawals are permitted, and government rules do not allow Junior ISAs to be flexible because the money cannot be taken out until the child turns 18¹. Interest is calculated daily and paid into the account annually on 31 October¹. Newbury Building Society's own site carries today's interest figures.

Anyone can pay into a child's Junior ISA, including grandparents and other family members, but only one person acts as the registered contact who runs the account³. The Junior ISA allowance is £9,000 per child per tax year, tax free, and it covers a Junior Cash ISA and a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA together³.

What it is and who it is for

A Junior Cash ISA is a savings account for a child that pays interest free of income tax. The child is the sole beneficiary, which means all the money in the account belongs to them, not to the adult who opened it³. The account is held in the child's name, and the parent or legal guardian who opens it becomes the registered contact⁵.

For a child under 16, an adult with parental responsibility must apply to open the account¹. A young person aged 16 or over can apply directly, or an adult with parental responsibility can apply on their behalf¹. The child must be under 18, and the account holder must be resident in England or Wales¹.

The registered contact runs the account while the child is young. At 16 or 17, the young person can sign to take control of the account themselves, and the registered contact is then removed³. The account is designed to run until the child turns 18, when it becomes theirs to use.

A Junior Cash ISA suits money that is genuinely being put aside for a child's future, because nothing can be taken out before 18. It is not a home for money that might be needed sooner. It is also different from an ordinary children's savings account, which usually allows access, and from a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA, where the value can fall as well as rise. Newbury's version is a cash account only.

How it works

Money paid in earns interest, calculated daily and added to the account each year on 31 October¹. Interest is exempt from income tax, so no tax is deducted and none needs to be declared on it¹. The account can be opened and operated in branch or by post, and online withdrawal access is not available to account holders under 18 or to accounts with an attorney, nominee or executor¹.

There are two deadlines to be aware of when opening by post. If the account is opened by post, it must be approved within 14 days, and if it is not approved within that time Newbury will close the account. Once approved, the account can receive deposits up to the account limit within five business days, and if no deposits have been received within five business days, Newbury will close the account¹.

There is a cooling-off period. For 30 days after opening the Junior ISA, the registered contact may tell Newbury they have changed their mind, and the deposit will be returned to the child, subject to cheque clearance, with any accrued interest¹.

Transfers work in a particular way. Newbury accepts full transfers in of current and previous years' subscriptions, and partial transfers in of previous years' subscriptions, but not partial transfers in of current year subscriptions¹. Transfers out are similar: Newbury accepts full transfer out of current and previous years' subscriptions, but not partial transfer out of current or previous years' subscriptions¹. On the registered contact's instructions, a Junior ISA with all rights and obligations is transferred to another ISA manager within five working days¹.

Transfers from stocks and shares ISAs held with another provider are not accepted into this account, and neither are transfers from Child Trust Funds held with another provider¹. If a child has a Child Trust Fund elsewhere, moving it into a Junior ISA is a separate process with its own rules.

How the fees and charges work

There are no charges for the normal operation of this account¹. That means no account fee, no fee to pay money in, and no charge for the annual interest payment. Newbury Building Society's site carries today's interest figures, since rates change.

The charges that do exist at Newbury Building Society sit on the mortgage side, not on this savings account. The society publishes a tariff of mortgage charges effective from 1 January 2026, and all fees on it are non-refundable⁶. None of those mortgage charges apply to a Junior Cash ISA. They are listed here only because they are the fees Newbury publishes, and a reader may see them on the society's site.

Who can apply and how to apply

The account is open to children under 18, and the account holder must be resident in England or Wales¹. For a child under 16, an adult with parental responsibility must apply to open the account; a young person aged 16 or over can apply directly, or an adult with parental responsibility can apply on their behalf¹.

Newbury Building Society's ISAs can be opened online, in branch or by post². The Junior Cash ISA itself can be opened and operated in branch or by post¹. A new ISA can be opened with Newbury as long as the saver has not paid into an existing Newbury ISA in the same tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April².

A child can hold only one Junior Cash ISA at a time, so if they already have one with another provider, moving to Newbury means transferring the balance in full rather than opening a second account⁵. The same rule applies in reverse: a full transfer out is accepted, but not a partial one¹.

To open the account, expect to provide proof of identity for both the adult and the child, and proof of address. Building societies commonly ask for this when a child's account is opened, and it is worth having the documents ready before an appointment or before posting a form.

How your money is protected

Eligible deposits with Newbury Building Society are protected up to a total of £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁴.

Newbury Building Society is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, with firm reference number 206077, and appears on the Bank of England's list of building societies incorporated in the UK⁷. Its permissions cover accepting deposits and entering into regulated mortgage contracts as lender⁷. A reader can check the firm's status on the FCA Register using that reference number.

Cash held in a Junior Cash ISA is protected in a way that a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA is not, because the FSCS covers eligible cash deposits rather than investment values⁹. That does not make a cash Junior ISA better or worse than a stocks and shares one; it means the risks are different. A cash account's value does not fall with markets, but it can be outpaced by inflation over a long period.

If the child dies, the Junior ISA must cease on the date of death. Interest is paid gross up to the date of closure, and interest arising after the date of death is subject to income tax at the appropriate rate and should be declared to HMRC as part of the deceased's tax liabilities¹.

Problems, complaints and getting help

If something goes wrong with a Newbury Building Society Junior Cash ISA, the first step is to raise it with the society. Complaints can be made by writing to head office at 90 Bartholomew Street, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG14 5EE, in person at a local branch, by telephone on 01635 555700, or by email to complaints.mailbox@newbury.co.uk¹⁰. The society aims to resolve complaints within 10 working days¹⁰.

If a complaint is not resolved by the third business day after it is received, Newbury sends an acknowledgement and the name of the person dealing with it¹⁰. No later than eight weeks after receiving the complaint, the society sends a final response setting out its decision¹⁰. A customer unhappy with that final response can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free and independent, and should do so within six months from the date of the final response¹⁰. Complaints about an online sale or service can be taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service directly or via the Online Dispute Resolution website¹⁰. The society also names an executive responsible for complaints, Melanie Mildenhall, Director of Customer Service, who can be contacted at head office¹⁰.

For free, impartial help with money questions more generally, MoneyHelper is the government-backed service, and debt advice charities can help where a family is struggling with borrowing. The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at unresolved complaints about the account itself.

Newbury Building Society supports ten charities as chosen by its members¹¹. That is background about the society rather than something that changes the terms of the account.