Cash ISA bonus of 0.5% gross launched by NatWest & RBS

NatWest and RBS are offering the opportunity for new and existing customers to earn a 0.5% gross bonus, fixed for 12 months, on their NatWest Cash ISA or RBS Instant Access ISA accounts. They can take advantage of this offer in two ways.

Customers who save their full 2010/11 cash ISA allowance of £5,100 before 30 April 2010, will qualify for the bonus.  The bonus begins on 1 May 2010 and will be paid on 31 May 2011 for the balances of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 contributions.

Alternatively, customers submitting a request to transfer in their cash ISA from another provider to either the NatWest or RBS cash ISA, by 30 April 2010, will also qualify for the bonus. The bonus will be paid on the full balance in the cash ISA.

Carol Sleith, Head of Savings said: "Around half of the general population have a Cash ISA, yet despite this, many people still find ISAs confusing. We are committed to providing helpful banking and after recently listening to UK savers, have implemented several measures to try to help our customers during ISA season.

"We were surprised to find that 82% of our respondents couldn't say exactly when the end of the tax year is, so we are introducing an online ISA clock and a new range of customer material in branch and online.  These materials will be useful to inform customers about the looming end of the tax year, helping to ensure deadlines for ISA top ups in the current tax year or the start of the next one, aren't missed. In addition, some customers will also be alerted via text and email updates.

"Furthermore, a third of ISA holders we spoke to, didn't know that the current ISA subscription limits were different for the over and under 50's and a third were not confident about transferring an ISA. In response to this, we have created a free guide which will be available from any of our branches to help demystify ISAs."