Frequently Asked Questions

The links below provide frequently asked questions to the most common questions and answers regarding Manchester Building Society Savings accounts.

Applying for and opening a new account

From time to time we offer savings accounts to small sized enterprises that are sole traders, partnerships, registered charities, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and private companies. For more information about our business savings accounts click here

We only offer savings accounts to individuals who are resident in the UK.

You must be 18 years of age or older to open a savings account or 16 years of age or older to open a Cash ISA with the Manchester Building Society.

You can open a new account by telephoning us on 0161 923 8015 for an application pack, and open your account by post to our Manchester address. You can also choose your account and download the relevant forms from our website. To open an account we will require a completed application form, and a personal cheque made payable to the account holder(s) from a bank or building society account held in the account holder(s) name.

Agreements have been made, and will be made, between the UK and other countries to help tackle tax evasion. These agreements allow the tax authorities of different countries to share information about a wide range of financial accounts and investments.

The Society, as a financial institution, is required to collect certain information about each customer’s tax arrangement under UK legislation. If you are tax resident of another country with which the UK has agreed to exchange information then we will be obliged to report information about your tax residency status and account(s) to HMRC. The information would then be passed on by HMRC to the relevant country’s tax authority.

A HMRC guide on the requirements for account holders is available to view here

As a financial institution, we are not allowed to give tax advice. If you are unsure of your individual circumstances or how to answer the questions on tax residency, we recommend that you speak to HMRC or your tax or legal adviser.

If your business a Passive Non-Financial Entity (NFE), we will require the additional Controlling Person Self Certification Declaration Form to be completed with the country/countries of tax residency and the associated TIN for the Controlling Persons of the business (the beneficial owners or partners). This applies even if the business entity itself is UK tax resident only.

Passive NFEs are generally entities whose income is at least 50% made up of passive income (for example, interest, dividends, rents and patent royalties), and whose assets mainly generate passive income.

Active NFEs would include most trading entities such as retail companies, service companies, and building companies.

We require a personal cheque drawn on a bank account in your name. For security, the cheque should be made payable to the account holder(s).

We use an external agency to confirm identity electronically. If the agency does not hold sufficient information about you, the search may fail and in this instance we would ask you to provide documentary evidence of identity instead, before we can open your account. For more details on identification and certifying documents please see our Identification Requirements.

Your combined eligible deposits with Newcastle Building Society and Manchester Building Society are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. Any deposits you hold above the limit are unlikely to be covered. For more information about the scheme click here.

Interest is automatically paid without deduction of tax on all savings accounts. You do not need to complete any forms or notify us.

Interest is automatically paid without deduction of tax on all savings accounts. You may be liable to pay tax on your savings interest depending on your personal circumstances. There will be no tax to pay on your savings interest if it is within your Personal Savings Allowance. Additionally, if your total income (including wages and savings interest) is within your Personal Allowance you will pay no tax at all. Further information can be found on the gov.uk website.

We will require the following:

  • A completed application form with the customer’s details and the Attorney’s details clearly indicated. Please contact the Society on the number below and we can arrange to send the relevant application form to you.
  • The original or certified copy* of the Power of Attorney document.
  • A Personal cheque drawn from a bank account in the customer's name or the Power of Attorney's name made payable to the customer.
  • Satisfactory verification of identity for both the customer and the Attorney(s). We use an external agency to confirm identification electronically. If the electronic identity checks are unsuccessful we will contact you requesting further identification.*

*For more details on identification and certifying documents please see our Identification Requirements.

If you require clarification on the above please contact us on 0161 923 8065.

If for any reason you consider that your new account does not fulfil your requirements, you may close the account without any loss of interest irrespective of the withdrawal conditions within 14 days of opening the account. You will need to inform the Society in writing of your request to close the account. Please note however this condition does not apply to fixed rate savings accounts.

Ensure that the Cash ISA you wish to open with the Manchester is eligible to receive transfers in from other ISA providers by referring to the Key Product Features of your account (please note that we do not accept transfers of Stocks and Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and flexible Cash ISAs).

Complete an ISA Transfer Authority form for each ISA you wish to transfer, ensuring you write your Manchester account number at the top of the form.

Return the form to us and we will contact your current ISA provider directly.

Please note that any transfers may be subject to fulfilling the terms and conditions of the account being transferred.

Once your account is open

Subject to the conditions of your account, deposits may be made by cheque, electronic transfer or standing order. We recommend that you contact us on 0161 923 8065 to clarify your accounts deposit conditions. Cheque deposits can be made via post to our Manchester office.

Deposits made by cheque must be drawn from a bank account in your name and made payable to the Account Holder(s).

No deposit slip is required when sending a cheque via the post; just write your 10-digit account number on the reverse of the cheque and send it to:

Manchester Building Society
125 Portland Street
Manchester
M1 4QD

Subject to your accounts conditions, you can make an electronic transfer of funds into your Manchester account by using the details below:

Account Payee: Newcastle Building Society T/A Manchester Building Society
Bank: Barclays Bank, 51 Mosley Street, Manchester
Sort Code: 20-55-34
Account Number: 60310646
Reference: Quote your 10-digit account number

Please note that this facility is only available for existing account holders as we are unable to accept an electronic payment to open an account.

Subject to your account's withdrawal conditions, cheque deposits received by us by post can be drawn against from the second working day after the day of deposit.

Unfortunately we do not currently offer BACS withdrawals.

We offer a same day CHAPS transfer facility and we will require your receiving bank details in writing. Please note that we do not offer CHAPS on our ISAs or Easy access savings accounts. Please see our Terms And Conditions for more detail.

Our savings accounts are operated by post. To make a withdrawal simply write to us at our Manchester office address. We process all requests on the day of receipt and send out cheques by first class post.

Subject to the withdrawal conditions of your account, you may need to provide notice to make a withdrawal. Please see How do I provide notice on my account? Requests for withdrawals on notice accounts are deferred until the notice period ends unless you request immediate closure and your account allows this.

You can provide notice in writing or simply by phoning us on 0161 923 8065 during our office hours (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.00pm).

Where notice has been provided verbally, written confirmation of your instructions must be received at our Manchester office before the notice maturity date.

Interest is accrued on a daily basis and is paid either on the last working day of the month or annually as specified in the Key Product Features of the account.

Interest will start to accrue on a sum from the day we receive it.

We will notify you about changes to your interest rate either in writing or by notices on our website. For further information about notices of changes to your interest rate, please see the Terms And Conditions.

As of 12th March 2021, the Society no longer offers an agency service. If you have any questions regarding your account, please contact us on 0161 923 8065 (telephone lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday).

We will require the following:

  • A completed application form with the Attorney’s details.
  • The original or certified copy* of the Power of Attorney document.
  • Satisfactory verification of identity for the Attorney. We use an external agency to confirm identification electronically. If the electronic identity checks are unsuccessful we will contact you requesting further identification.*

*For more details on identification and certifying documents please see our Identification Requirements.

If you require clarification on the above please contact us on 0161 923 8065.

Please write to our Manchester office advising of your new address. Alternatively you can download our change of address form and send this to our Manchester office.

Please contact us on 0161 923 8065 to discuss this further as account restrictions apply.

Please write to our Manchester office with details of the change along with the appropriate documents as proof. We require either the original or a certified copy* of your official document i.e. marriage certificate or change of name deed.

*For more details on identification and certifying documents please see our Identification Requirements.

Please write to our Manchester office with details of the account holder, enclosing the original or certified copy*; we will also accept a photocopy or scanned copy of the death certificate.

*For more details on certifying documents please see our Identification Requirements.

Please contact us on 0161 923 8065 if you require a duplicate statement of account

As of 8th January 2021, our accounts no longer operate with passbooks. If you have any concerns regarding your account, please contact us on the number above and we will be happy to discuss this further.

We do not automatically issue Statements of Yearly Interest at the end of the tax year or on account closure. Please contact us on 0161 923 8065 if you require a Statement of Yearly Interest. Tax certificates showing deduction of tax are available for tax years up to and including the tax year ended 5th April 2016. For subsequent tax years, all savings interest is automatically paid without deduction of tax.

We will require the following:

  • Written authority from the existing account holder.
  • A new application form completed by the new and existing customer.
  • A personal cheque (for the minimum of £1) from the new account holder. The deposit must be from a bank or building society account held in the new account holder's name.

We will require a written request signed by all existing account holders.

Check the terms of your account for any notice or penalty conditions which may apply. You can give notice on your ISA over the phone.

To complete the transfer we will need to be in receipt of a Transfer Authority from your new provider.

Ensure that your Manchester ISA is eligible to receive transfers in from other ISA providers by referring to the Key Product Features of your account (please note that we do not accept transfers of Stocks and Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and flexible Cash ISAs).

Complete an ISA Transfer Authority form for each ISA you wish to transfer, ensuring you write your Manchester account number at the top of the form.

Return the form to our Manchester address and we will contact your current ISA provider directly.

Please note that any transfers may be subject to fulfilling the terms and conditions of the account being transferred.

We are currently unable to accept APS payments into Manchester ISAs. However, we can assist you in transferring an APS allowance to be used with an APS accepting ISA provider.

In order to provide the value of an APS allowance, we will require the death to have been registered with the Society (if not already done so) and a completed APS information request form.

Subject to the APS rules and eligibility requirements being met (and any checks we may reasonably require), we will write to confirm the value of the APS allowance. You will then need to find and choose an APS accepting ISA provider and complete an APS transfer authority form with them to arrange for the transfer of the allowance.

If you require further information or an APS information request form, please contact us on 0161 923 8065.

All cheque deposits will start to earn interest from the day of deposit.

Cheque deposits received by us by post can be drawn against from the second working day after the day of deposit when the funds are cleared.

In accordance with our Terms and Conditions we will arrange to send you a statement of account annually. However, you are also able to request an interim statement by telephoning us on 0161 923 8065.

Closing or transferring your account

To close an account please write to us at our Manchester office. Where an account has a notice period, closure will be deferred unless you request immediate closure and the terms and conditions of your account allow this.

All closure requests are processed on the day of receipt and for easy access accounts, cheques are sent out the same day by first class post. For notice accounts, the cheque will be sent to you by first class post on the day the notice period ends. Where the date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the transaction will be completed on the next working day.

You can provide notice in writing or simply by phoning us on 0161 923 8065 during our office hours.

Where notice has been provided verbally, written confirmation of your instructions must be received at our Manchester office before the notice maturity date.

Subject to your account's withdrawal conditions, cheque deposits received by us by post can be drawn against from the second working day after the day of deposit.

Yes, subject to fulfilling the terms and conditions of both your existing and new accounts. We can switch your account over the phone, please contact us on 0161 923 8065 for more information.

Check the terms of your account for any notice or penalty conditions which may apply. You can give notice on your ISA over the phone.

To complete the transfer we will need to be in receipt of a Transfer Authority from your new provider.

Our accounts do not have a sort code, you only need to quote your 10-digit Manchester account number.

We will send your new provider a cheque by first class post. Your new provider will backdate the interest on the ISA funds to the first day when interest is no longer paid by us.

Yes, you can specify the amount you would like to transfer however please note that current year's subscriptions cannot be split. When carrying out part transfers, please bear in mind the minimum balance of the ISA you hold with us.