How to move savings to a new account

Moving savings to a new account is not one single process. For an ordinary savings account, it usually means taking the money out and paying it in somewhere else. For an ISA, it means something quite different: a formal transfer between providers that keeps the money's tax-free status intact. Getting the two confused is the most common and most expensive mistake people make, because withdrawing cash from an ISA and paying it back in can permanently use up part of your annual allowance.

The good news is that the mechanics are simple once you know which situation you are in. Ordinary savings can be moved at your own pace, subject to any notice periods or exit terms on the account. ISA transfers are arranged entirely between the two providers, take up to 15 working days for cash ISAs, and do not use up any of your £20,000 annual ISA allowance¹. This page explains both routes, what the rules allow, and where things go wrong.

Moving savings: a simple withdrawal or a formal transfer

For a standard savings account, moving your money is usually a matter of withdrawing it and paying it into a new account. Savings accounts cannot usually be moved automatically, and you may need to speak with your bank to arrange the move⁶. How easy this is depends on the type of account: an easy access account, such as NS&I's Direct Saver, lets you take money out whenever you want, with interest paid yearly⁷. A fixed-term account or a notice account may charge a penalty or require notice before you can have your money, so the terms of the specific account set the pace of the move.

Some accounts have their own rules. With Help to Save, a government-backed scheme for people on certain benefits, you can withdraw the money from your savings at any time and it will be paid into your bank account⁸. The general principle is the same across the market: with ordinary savings, the money is yours to move, and the only obstacles are the access conditions you agreed to when you opened the account. The types of savings account you hold determine whether there is a notice period, a penalty, or a wait for a fixed term to end.

ISAs are the exception. The legislation that governs them requires that, on your instructions, the account or agreed parts of it "shall be transferred to another account manager" under the transfer regulations⁹. That word "transferred" is doing specific legal work: the money must move directly from the old provider to the new one, with its ISA status preserved. If you withdraw the cash yourself and then pay it into a new ISA, the money loses its tax-free history and becomes a fresh subscription, counted against your £20,000 allowance for the year.

Since 6 April 2024, the regulations confirm that the current year's subscriptions and the previous years' subscriptions "may be transferred in whole or in part" for adult ISAs³. Before that date, partial transfers were more restricted, and Which? reported the change as it took effect: from April 2024 you can transfer part of your account balance from one ISA provider to another, no matter when the money was paid in¹⁰. This means you no longer have to move everything at once, which is useful if you want to keep some money with a provider but move the rest.

The contrast with current accounts is worth noting. Current accounts can be switched using a service where the new bank moves your accounts and payments for you¹¹, and there is a dedicated process for that on our current accounts page. Savings accounts have no equivalent automatic service: you arrange the move yourself, either as a withdrawal and redeposit or, for ISAs, as a formal transfer.

Transfers do not use up your £20,000 ISA allowance

The single most important rule about ISA transfers is that they are separate from your annual subscription allowance. Transferring an ISA does not use up the allowance: if you have £40,000 saved in one ISA, you can move the whole amount to a new provider and still have your full £20,000 allowance for new money that year¹. Legal & General makes the same point for previous years: transferring any amounts saved in previous years will not count towards your annual £20,000 ISA allowance¹².

This is why the method of moving matters so much. Which? warns directly: "Don't withdraw your money out of your other Isas to transfer, as it could impact on your current Isa allowance"⁴. If you take £10,000 out of a cash ISA and pay it into a new cash ISA as a fresh deposit, that £10,000 is a new subscription and eats into your £20,000 limit for the tax year. If instead you instruct a transfer, the same £10,000 moves without touching the allowance at all.

Two related rules shape how the allowance works around transfers. First, allowances do not roll over between tax years: if you deposit £10,000 one year, you cannot deposit £30,000 the next year to make up the difference¹³. Use it or lose it, each year. Second, the one-of-each-type rule limits new subscriptions: you can only open and pay into one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA per tax year, though you will not breach these rules if you open an ISA solely to receive transferred savings, including inherited ISA money¹⁴.

The flexibility rules interact with transfers in a way that catches people out. Since 2015, flexible ISAs have allowed savers to replace cash they have withdrawn earlier in the year without the replacement counting towards the annual limit¹⁵. But that replacement right belongs to the account, not to you. Coventry Building Society states it plainly: if you transfer that ISA to another provider and close the account, you lose the flexible ISA allowance you have created, because a flexible ISA allowance is not transferable¹⁶. Bestinvest gives the same warning¹⁷. If you have withdrawn money you intended to put back, think about the transfer before you instruct it.

Which ISAs can move where: cash, stocks and shares, Junior and Lifetime

There are four main types of adult ISA: cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, Innovative Finance ISA and Lifetime ISA¹⁸. Not every type can move to every other type, and the rules have recently changed, so the direction you want to move in matters.

For adult ISAs, the official statistics set out the basic directions: funds invested in a stocks and shares ISA can only be transferred to another stocks and shares ISA, while funds in a cash ISA can transfer to a stocks and shares ISA or to another cash ISA¹⁸. The underlying legislation adds the age condition on the cash-to-stocks-and-shares route: the current year's and previous years' subscriptions from a cash account may be transferred to a stocks and shares account if the account investor is 18 or over¹⁹.

The rules for moving money out of stocks and shares ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs have changed recently. The Individual Savings Account (Amendment) Regulations 2026 provide that transfers from a stocks and shares ISA or an innovative finance ISA to a cash ISA are prohibited where the account holder is below the age of 65²⁰. The same regulations set out where that money can go instead: the current year's subscriptions and the previous years' subscriptions may be transferred to a stocks and shares account, an innovative finance account, a Lifetime ISA, or a cash account if the account investor is 65 or over at the end of the year²¹. The government's consultation on the regulations explains the policy intent behind the under-65 restriction²², and the draft legislation shows the same provisions²³.

Junior ISAs follow their own pattern. A named child may hold a cash junior ISA and a stocks and shares junior ISA, but only one of each type may be held during the child's childhood, though accounts may be transferred to alternative managers²⁴. The transfer rules allow all or part of previous years' subscriptions to move between junior ISA types for the same named child, with the condition that if current year's subscriptions are transferred, all of the current year's subscriptions must go together²⁴. Junior ISA money belongs to the child and transfers must stay in their name; our children's savings accounts page covers how these accounts work day to day.

Lifetime ISAs can hold the money in either cash accounts or stocks and shares²⁵, and transfers into a Lifetime ISA are one of the permitted destinations for money leaving a stocks and shares or innovative finance account²¹. Note that the Budget of November 2025 announced a cash limit of £12,000 within the overall annual limit of £20,000 for individual savings accounts, applying to savers over the age of 65²⁶. This is a subscription limit rather than a transfer rule, but it is worth knowing if you are moving large sums in later life.

How to transfer an ISA to a new provider

The process itself is straightforward, and the key point is that the new provider does the work. ISA transfers allow you to move your savings from one cash ISA provider to another²⁷, and the same pattern applies across ISA types. For an Innovative Finance ISA, Which? advises that you complete a transfer form with the innovative finance ISA provider you want to switch to⁴. The same approach applies generally: you open the new ISA, tell the new provider where the money is, and the two providers deal with each other.

The transfer process, from checking the new account accepts transfers to the money arriving with its tax-free status intact.

Before you start, check that the new provider accepts transfers in. Not all providers accept transfers into their ISAs, so do your homework first¹⁷, and independent guidance makes the same point: it is possible to switch to another product, but not all ISAs will accept transfers²⁸. Some accounts are open only to new money. Providers that do accept transfers make it easy: NS&I, for example, confirms that you can transfer its Direct ISA balance to another provider by contacting your new provider, who will arrange the transfer for you²⁹.

The steps in order:

1. Check the new account accepts transfers in, including transfers of the current tax year's money if that is what you are moving¹⁷.
2. Open the new ISA and complete its transfer form, giving details of your old ISA⁴.
3. Let the providers deal with each other. The new provider requests the money from the old provider, and the old provider sends it directly, so the tax-free status is kept⁹.
4. Do not withdraw the money yourself in the meantime, as this breaks the chain and can use up your allowance⁴.
5. Check the money has arrived and that the old account has been closed or reduced as you expected.

One point on partial transfers: since April 2024 you can transfer part of your account balance from one ISA provider to another, no matter when the money was paid in¹⁰, and the regulations now state that subscriptions may be transferred in whole or in part³. So you can move previous years' savings and leave this year's where it is, or split a balance between two providers, without breaching the one-of-each-type rule.

How long a transfer takes: up to 15 working days for cash ISAs

Cash ISA transfers are the quickest, and the timescale is consistent across the market. Transfers can take up to 15 working days for cash ISAs and 30 calendar days for stocks and shares ISAs³⁰. Nationwide says a cash ISA transfer to another provider takes up to 15 working days once it receives the request³¹. Dudley Building Society says cash ISA transfers typically take up to 15 working days², Yorkshire Building Society says it can take up to 15 working days to transfer between cash ISAs³², and The Nottingham says transfers could take up to 15 working days³³. Cambridge Building Society puts it as a deadline: cash ISA transfers should take no longer than 15 working days³⁴.

A working day means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday³², so a 15-working-day transfer can stretch to three weeks in calendar terms, longer if there are bank holidays in the period. ISA providers have 15 working days to transfer cash ISAs³⁶, which functions as a service standard rather than a strict legal deadline in every case, but it is the figure providers themselves quote.

Transfers involving investments take longer because the investments may need to be sold before the money can move. A transfer of a stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA could take up to 30 days³³, and transfers between other types of ISA, for example stocks and shares ISAs, take 30 calendar days³⁵. The reason is mechanical: shares must be sold, settlement must occur, and only then can cash be sent to the receiving provider. During this period your money may be out of the market, which is a consideration for invested ISAs but not for cash.

If a transfer drags on beyond these timescales, contact both providers and ask for a written explanation of the delay. Keeping the reference number from your transfer form helps both providers trace where the money is.

What can go wrong when moving savings

The most damaging mistake is withdrawing ISA money to move it. As covered above, this converts the money into a new subscription and can use up your current year's allowance⁴. The second most common problem is opening an account that does not accept transfers in at all: not all providers accept transfers into their ISAs, so the homework has to come first¹⁷.

Flexible ISA allowances are a quieter loss. If you transfer an ISA when you have withdrawn money using flexible ISA rules, you will lose your flexible ISA allowance, because it is not transferable¹⁶. The money itself moves fine; the lost flexibility is invisible until you need it.

Timing and access conditions cause problems with ordinary savings. If your money is in a notice account or a fixed-term bond, withdrawing early can trigger a penalty or be impossible, so check the terms before planning a move. Our pages on notice accounts and fixed-rate bonds cover the access rules, and what happens when a fixed-rate savings account matures explains your options at the end of a term.

There are also structural situations to know about. If your ISA provider stops acting as manager or has its approval withdrawn, you must be notified of your right to transfer your ISA account to another manager³⁷. You are not stuck with a provider that has exited the market. And some special pots of money have their own rules: court-held money paid out when you turn 18 can be transferred into someone else's account only if you go to court to get approval³⁸, which is a reminder that not all savings can be redirected freely.

Finally, residency. You cannot open an ISA if you are resident abroad, and you might not qualify for certain kinds of UK tax relief³⁹. However, a non-UK resident may still make subscriptions where the account's terms and conditions allow it³⁹, and for matured Child Trust Fund money moved to an ISA, the account holder does not need to be UK resident to instruct the transfer³⁷. If you have moved overseas, check the specific provider's terms before assuming either way.

If a transfer goes wrong and the provider will not put it right, you can complain to the provider and then to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, and our consumer protection page explains the complaints process step by step.