Paragon

Paragon is a British bank that operates entirely online and through its app, with no branch network. It is best known for savings: it offers a range of savings accounts including Cash ISAs, instant access accounts and fixed term accounts¹. Beyond savings, the Paragon name covers lending too. Its trading names include Paragon Personal Finance, Paragon Motor Finance, Paragon Mortgages, Mortgage Trust, up, Spring and Paragon Premier², so the same firm sits behind savings, mortgages, motor finance and personal loans.

Paragon does not offer a current account, so customers keep their day-to-day banking elsewhere and use Paragon purely as a home for savings. Money held in eligible Paragon deposit accounts is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to a total of £120,000¹. The bank displays a 4.7 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot, from 11,734 reviews¹.

What Paragon offers savers

Paragon's savings range sits within the main types of savings account sold in the UK: ISAs, instant access accounts and fixed term options³. An instant access account lets you pay in and take money out whenever you like, while a fixed term account locks your money away for an agreed period in exchange for a rate that is set for that period. A Cash ISA is a wrapper that shields the interest you earn from income tax, within your annual ISA allowance.

Paragon publishes the terms of each account, including how interest is paid and any rules on withdrawals, on its own website, and the figures there change regularly, so this page does not repeat them. What is worth knowing before you look is how the accounts differ in shape: some are designed to be opened and managed only online or in the app, some fix your money for a set number of years, and Cash ISA versions of each exist so that savers can keep their interest within the ISA wrapper.

If you are weighing savings accounts generally, including how instant access and fixed term accounts compare and what to check in the terms, see the guide to savings accounts. For how ISAs work, the allowance and the rules on transfers, see the guide to ISAs.

Paragon Cash ISAs and fixed rate savings

Paragon sells Cash ISAs in fixed term form, including a five-year fixed Cash ISA, alongside its other fixed rate savings¹. A fixed rate account sets your interest rate at the start for the whole term, which means you know exactly what you will get, but you normally lose access to the money until the term ends, and withdrawing early usually costs you interest. The exact terms, including how interest is calculated and paid, are set out in each account's summary box on Paragon's website.

One thing worth understanding with any fixed term account is what happens at the end of the term. Typically the account stops earning its fixed rate and you choose what to do next: move the money to a new account, or leave it where it is on whatever the provider then pays. Checking the maturity terms before the term ends avoids your money sitting on an uncompetitive arrangement without you noticing.

If you already hold a Cash ISA elsewhere, you can move it to Paragon without losing its tax-free status. ISA transfers are arranged between providers: you ask the new provider and it arranges the transfer for you, rather than you withdrawing the money yourself. NS&I, which runs its own Direct ISA, states the position plainly for its customers: "Can I transfer my NS&I ISA balance to another provider? Yes, you can." and "you'll need to contact your new provider and they'll arrange the transfer for you"⁴. The same mechanism applies when moving an ISA to Paragon: you ask Paragon, and it deals with your existing provider. This matters because taking the money out yourself and paying it back in uses up your current year's ISA allowance, whereas a transfer does not.

Spring: a Paragon savings brand

Spring is an app-based savings brand, and it is listed on the FCA Register as a trading name of Paragon Bank Plc². In practical terms that means a savings account opened with Spring is a deposit with the same authorised bank: it counts towards the same £120,000 FSCS protection limit as your other Paragon deposits, not a separate one. The brand is positioned around managing savings from a phone, which suits savers who want to open, fund and withdraw from an app rather than a website.

A related group company, Spring Financial Group Limited, also includes the mortgage brand MPowered Mortgages⁵, which is a separate operation from the savings brand even though the names are similar. If you hold accounts with both Spring and Paragon, it is worth remembering that the protection limit applies across all eligible deposits with the one authorised firm, so large balances spread between the two brands do not each get their own £120,000.

One point to check before applying to any app-based savings brand: some providers only make their accounts available to sole applicants⁶. If you want to save jointly with a partner, check the account's terms first, because a brand built around a single-user app may not offer joint accounts at all.

Mortgages, motor finance and personal finance brands

Paragon's permissions go beyond savings. They include accepting deposits, entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender, entering into regulated credit agreements as lender (excluding high-cost short-term credit, bill of sale agreements and home collected credit agreements), and entering into regulated consumer hire agreements as owner². In plain terms, the same bank that takes your savings also lends: through Paragon Mortgages and Mortgage Trust on the mortgage side, through Paragon Motor Finance on car and vehicle finance, and through Paragon Personal Finance on personal lending. "up" and "Paragon Premier" also appear as trading names².

On mortgages, the regulatory rulebook covers mortgage contracts, including first and second charge mortgages and bridging loans, along with equity release products, home purchase plans and sale and rent back agreements⁷. Paragon is known in the mortgage market primarily as a buy-to-let lender, lending to landlords rather than to people buying a home to live in, though its current terms and product range are on its own website. If you are borrowing to buy a home, the guide to mortgages and the guide to buying a home explain how the process works and what to check.

On the motor finance side, Paragon Motor Finance provides finance for vehicles, and the FCA keeps a list of car finance lenders that includes the firms consumers can complain to about motor finance commission⁸. If you have a complaint about how vehicle finance was sold, that list is the route to the right firm and its complaint process. For personal loans, the guide to loans explains how unsecured lending works, what lenders check before they lend, and how repayments are structured.

Who can open a Paragon savings account

Opening a savings account with a UK bank or building society follows a common pattern. To open a bank account you usually have to fill in an application form, in a branch, online, or sometimes over the phone, and provide proof of identity including your full name, date of birth and address⁹. For a digital bank like Paragon, the application is done online or in the app, and the identity checks are usually electronic, with documents requested only if the electronic checks cannot confirm who you are.

Depending on the account you have chosen, you can usually apply online, using an app, over the phone, or in person¹⁰. With no branches, Paragon's routes are the online and app ones. Some people may need support with the application process, and guidance for people managing their own money notes that an application form can be completed online, in person or by phone¹¹, so if you cannot complete Paragon's online form, it is worth contacting it to ask what help it can give.

There are also legal limits that apply to any bank account. Under the rules on payment accounts with basic features, where an application is refused the institution must inform the consumer in writing and free of charge of the reason, advise how to complain about the refusal, and tell the consumer of the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹². So if Paragon declines your application, it owes you a written explanation and a route to challenge the decision. If you cannot open a standard account, a basic bank account may be an option; the guide to current accounts explains the alternatives.

How to bank with Paragon: online and by app

Paragon has no branch network, so everything happens through its website, its app and its phone-based contact team. For most savers this is the whole relationship: you open the account online, log in to check your balance and interest, and move money by bank transfer to and from your nominated current account elsewhere. Paragon does not offer a current account, so you keep your day-to-day banking where it is and use Paragon purely as a home for savings.

This shape has practical consequences. There is no way to walk into a branch to withdraw cash or sort out a problem face to face, and no counter service. On the other hand, an account run entirely online can be opened and managed at any time, and transfers to your current account are normally made by faster payment rather than by visiting a branch. Before opening a fixed term account, check the withdrawal rules in the terms, because with no branch to visit, everything about access is governed by what the account allows.

If you ever see activity you do not recognise, or you have revealed personal information to someone, contact your bank using the phone number on the back of your card or on a recent statement¹³. The guide to scams and fraud explains the common scams and what to do next, and the guide to consumer protection sets out your rights when things go wrong.

Opening a Paragon account step by step

The process for opening a savings account with an online bank follows a small number of steps, and Paragon's is typical of the type. You choose the account and read its terms, gather your details, apply, pass identity checks, register for online access, and then fund the account. The identity checks are usually electronic and quick, using details from your credit file and the electoral register, with documents requested only where those checks fail.

In order, the steps are:

1. Choose the account. Read the summary box and the terms, paying attention to the minimum deposit, the withdrawal rules and, for fixed term accounts, what happens at maturity.
2. Gather your details. You will need your full name, date of birth and address, and the details of the current account you will use to fund the savings account⁹.
3. Apply. Complete the application form online or in the app¹⁰.
4. Identity checks. These are usually electronic; have documents to hand in case the bank needs proof of identity or address⁹.
5. Register for access. You will receive an activation code, by post or text, to set up your online or app login.
6. Fund the account. Pay in from your current account, or, for an ISA, ask Paragon to arrange a transfer from your existing ISA provider rather than withdrawing the money yourself⁴.

Paragon's customer reviews and how to complain

Paragon displays a 4.7 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot, from 11,734 reviews¹. That is the provider's own presentation of a third-party review site, so treat it as a signal of how customers describe the bank rather than as an independent assessment. Review sites of this kind collect voluntary feedback, which tends to over-represent people with strong opinions either way, so it is worth reading a spread of recent reviews about the things that matter to you, such as app reliability or the speed of withdrawals.

If something goes wrong, the complaint route is the standard one for financial firms. First complain to the firm's customer services, then make a formal complaint: the firm has eight weeks to investigate and give a final response, and if you are not satisfied you can take it to the free Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁵. The Ombudsman's own instruction is simple: "Fill in our complaint form."¹⁶. Under the FCA's rules, consumers may choose to complain to the firm and seek redress from it, and refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if the firm does not satisfy the complaint¹⁷.

A few specific situations have their own routes. If your complaint involves your personal data, for example a data breach, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, which accepts complaints online, in your own time¹⁸. If an account application is refused, the firm must tell you in writing how to complain about the refusal and that you can go to the Ombudsman¹². And if you have been the victim of a scam, contact your bank using the number on the back of your card or on a recent statement¹³, then report it; the guide to scams and fraud covers the steps.

PPI complaints about older loans

Paragon's history includes consumer lending under former names, and its previous names include Paragon Car Finance, Moorgate Loan Servicing, MLS and Paragon Mortgages (No.24) PLC². Payment protection insurance was widely sold alongside loans and finance of this kind, and some "stand alone" PPI policies were also sold, ones that were not linked to particular credit¹⁹. If you had a loan or finance with a Paragon business in the past and PPI was attached to it, the question of whether it was mis-sold can still arise.

The general deadline for new PPI complaints has passed, but some routes remain. You can still make a complaint about PPI if you have used your PPI policy, though any payout you got when you claimed will likely be taken off your compensation²⁰. If you complained about PPI before but did not get a refund, you might be able to complain again about commission²⁰. The FSCS, which covers claims against failed firms, adds a further ground: "You could also get compensation if the firm earned commission for the sale of PPI and didn't tell you about it."²¹, though if you have already made a successful PPI claim and received compensation from the FSCS, you cannot make a Plevin claim against the same firm²¹.

What counts as mis-selling is set by the Ombudsman's approach. One example it gives is where "it wasn't made clear to you that you were taking out PPI, and you didn't actually want it"¹⁹. Its published case studies include upheld complaints about advised sales of single-premium policies with unsecured and secured loans²². Where a consumer was mis-sold a single-premium PPI policy and the policy remains in force, the Ombudsman will tell the business to cancel the policy²³. Where several policies were mis-sold, a residual claim from one would not usually be deducted from the redress for any other²⁴, and policies are considered successive sales if they were sold as part of a continuous chain²⁵. If you think this applies to a past Paragon loan, complain to Paragon first, then to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are not satisfied.

How savings with Paragon are protected

Eligible deposits with Paragon Bank are protected up to a total of £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme¹. That limit applies to the total of your eligible deposits with the bank, not to each account: because Spring is a trading name of the same firm², savings held with Spring and with Paragon count together towards the one £120,000. The FSCS is the statutory scheme that steps in if a bank fails, paying depositors up to the limit, and the guide to consumer protection explains how it works alongside the Ombudsman.

You can check a firm's status yourself. The FSCS advises: "Search the FCA register using your provider's firm reference number (FRN) for the most accurate results."²⁶. Paragon Bank Plc's firm reference number is 604551, and it appears on the Bank of England's list of banks incorporated in the UK that are authorised to accept deposits²⁷. The FCA Register entry lists its permissions, including accepting deposits, and its trading names², and Companies House shows the company as active, incorporated in England on 12 March 2005²⁸.

Two things to keep in mind. First, the £120,000 limit is per person per authorised firm, so a household's money in two names gets a limit each, but one person's money across Paragon and Spring gets one. Second, protection covers deposits, not everything: it applies to eligible deposits, and the FSCS sets out separately what it covers for investments and other products²⁶. If a balance would take you over the limit, the options are to spread deposits across separately authorised banks, which the guide to savings covers, or to keep within it.