Savings FAQs

We accept coins provided they are sorted and bagged before being taken to a branch. Coin bags are available from any of our branch offices. The maximum that we will accept is five full bags of the appropriate value of coin. This means any five bags from the following:

• £20 of £2 or £1 coins, not mixed;
• £10 of 50p or 20p coins, not mixed;
• £5 of 10p or 5p coins, not mixed; and
• £1 of 2p or 1p coins, not mixed.

You can open a savings account at any of our branches, no appointment is needed. Alternatively, you can post us a fully completed application form and a cheque made payable to yourself to our Tipton Head Office. Opening balances made by electronic payment must be sent within 14 days of opening your account, or the account will automatically be closed. We have access to credit reference agency databases which in the majority of cases will allow us to prove your identity and address without the need for paper-based identification. However, if we do require further proof we will let you know. Please click here to see our list of acceptable identification. If you would like to open an ISA with us we will require your National Insurance number.

This will depend on your account. Please, refer to your product terms and conditions to check if an ISA transfer in is allowed. If you are unable to refer to your product terms and conditions, you can call us on 0121 557 2551, visit one of our branches, or complete our online contact form. 
We do not allow partial transfers of the current tax year subscriptions, however previous tax year subscriptions can be transferred in full or part. If you wish to transfer an existing ISA, please complete our ISA Transfer In Form and post it to us at 70 Owen Street, Tipton, DY4 8HG.

We do not offer accounts with cash cards or cheque books and do not have any cash machines.

We do not issue account statements as all of our accounts are operated by either passbook or mobile app. You can request a statement showing your balance and the transactions made on your account. If you need your passbook updating we will be happy to do this in branch, or you can post your passbook to our head office at 70 Owen Street, Tipton, DY4 8HG. To request a statement please call us on 0121 557 2551, visit one of our branches, or complete our online contact form.

We do not currently have the facility for you to access your savings account online. However, you can view and open savings account on our Tipton App. You can download our App from the App Store or Google Play Store.

We do not open savings accounts for non-UK residents.

We do not offer current accounts and therefore, no electronic payments can be set up from your savings account.

With the exception of ISAs, you can add another person to your existing account. To do this please call us on 0121 557 2551, visit one of our branches, or complete our online contact form.

From 6 April 2016 the Government introduced the Personal Savings Allowance, meaning all savings interest is now paid without tax deducted. Basic rate tax payers can earn £1,000 in savings interest tax free. For more information please visit the HMRC website.

A child must be at least 16 years old to open a savings account in their own name. To open an ISA, the minimum age is 18 years old. 

You do not need your passbook to pay money into your account. We will be happy to update your passbook next time you visit our offices, or you can post your passbook to any of our branches, or Head Office to be updated.

We have four branches located in Tipton, Coseley, Bilston and Sedgley. Please see our branches page for more information.

To see our individual opening hours please click here. 

We have access to credit reference agencies, which in most cases will allow us to verify your identification without the need for paper-based identification. However, in some circumstances we will need you to provide additional proof of identity, and will let you know if this is the case. Please see our list of acceptable identification for further detail. If you would like to open an ISA with us we will also need your National Insurance Number.

You can close your account by visiting one of our branches, or through the post to our Tipton Head Office. To close your account through the post you will need to send a signed letter requesting account closure and your passbook. You should check your account terms and conditions as some of our accounts require notice to be given for closure. 

To register a death, you will need to bring in the original or certified copy of the Death Certificate, or you can post it to our Head Office at 70 Owen Street, Tipton, DY4 8HG. What happens with accounts following this will depend on the total balances held with us. Further information can be found in our bereavement guide.

For more information on how to register a power of attorney please see our online guide.

Each financial year the Government will provide a set amount that you can deposit into ISAs for that tax year. For the 2025/2026 tax year, the ISA deposit limit is £20,000.

You'll need to complete an amendment form and bring in proof of your change of name (either your Marriage Certificate or Certificate of Deed Poll). Please remember to sign the amendment form with both your old and your new signature. You can do this at any one of our branches or through the post, please bear in mind if you do notify us through the post the proof of your change of name must be certified, this is detailed in our list of acceptable identification.

You do not need an appointment to open a new savings account, simply visit your local branch. You can also open some of our accounts through the post by sending your completed application form and a cheque for your opening deposit.

Opening balances made by electronic payment must be sent within 14 days of opening your account, or the account will automatically be closed. We must confirm the identity and address of every applicant. We are able to access credit reference agency databases which, in most cases, will allow us to open your account without paper-based identification. This will show as a search of the database only and not a credit score, so will not affect your credit rating. If we do need further proof of identification, we will let you know. These requirements will depend on how and where you are opening your account, to find out more please see our acceptable savings ID webpage.

If you wish to speak to an Adviser to discuss our mortgages or are looking for independent financial advice then you will need to make an appointment. You can call us on 0121 557 2551, visit one of our branches, or arrange a call back using our contact us form.

We do not offer foreign currency.

We can offer life insurance through our partnership with Wren Sterling. Further details of what we can offer can be found on our financial advice pages. To book an appointment with an Independent Financial Adviser, please call us on 0121 557 2551, visit a branch, or complete our contact us form.

We can offer financial advice through our partnership with Wren Sterling. Further details of what we can offer can be found on our financial advice pages. To book an appointment with an Independent Financial Adviser, please call us on 0121 557 2551, visit a branch, or complete our contact us form.

With the exception of Fixed Rate Savings, the interest rates on our accounts are variable and can change at any time. If we reduce your interest rate and you have a balance of £100 or more, we will contact you by post before the changes are effective.

You can pay money into your account by sending a cheque made payable to yourself through the post to our Tipton Head Office, visiting any of our branches, or by internal transfer from another account you hold with us. You can also set up a standing order from your bank or building society to transfer money or send a one off electronic transfer. To do this, you will need to quote:

• Our sort code: 20-27-33;
• Our bank account number: 70885096;
• Reference number: your own Tipton Account Savings number; and
• Payee name: your full name 

Your savings with us are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. For more information please read our FSCS leaflet or visit the FSCS Website.

You can close your Help to Buy: ISA the same way you would close any other account, by coming into any of our branches or by postal request to our Tipton Head Office. When you close your Help to Buy: ISA you will receive a closing statement. Your Solicitor will need this to claim your Government bonus.

If you decide within 14 days of opening that the account you’ve chosen is not suitable for you, you will be able to close the account without charge. We can arrange to give your money back to you or transfer it to another account that is more suitable to your needs. Please be aware that the 14 day cooling off period does not apply to Fixed Rate Savings accounts.

BACS, CHAPS and Faster Payments are all electronic payments, however there are some important differences between them to help you understand when and how they should be used.

BACS
BACS stands for Banker’s Automated Clearing Services, and is a system which is used to send payments directly from one account to another. Typically, most people receive their salary from their employer via BACS payment of some type.
The main use of these are for payments made by direct debit. BACS payments typically take 3 working days to clear, and can be up to the value of £20 million for retail clients.

CHAPS
CHAPS stands for Clearing House Automated Payment System and have been in use since 1984. Typically, CHAPS payments are used for retail and wholesale, high value payments – usually worth over £10,000.
As these types of payments are more costly to process, they are typically used for larger sums and more important payments (for example payment of a deposit on a house). With CHAPS payments, funds are likely to clear within the same day.

Faster Payments
Faster Payments are available for standard transfers within the UK, acting as one of the quicker ways to move money around. The maximum transaction limit set by the Faster Payments operator is £250,000 – for larger payments, we would recommend utilising CHAPS.
Faster Payments typically happen instantly but may take longer if the receiving financial institution is not a clearing bank.

Here at the Tipton, we do accept faster payments. You can check other providers using the Faster Payments website, at www.fasterpayments.org.uk/sort-code-checker.

Which Should I Use?
The type of payment used depends on the nature of what you are doing. For transferring small sums to friends and family, this is usually done through faster payments. However, for more regular payments (for example your monthly mortgage direct debit) this is most likely to be completed via a BACS payment.

Finally, CHAPS payments are more commonly used by businesses or as a one off when purchasing something costly.

A roll number is your savings account number, which is used to identify a member’s account with the building society. If you are making a payment to a Building Society account, you should add the roll number (account number) as the reference of the payment you are sending, you must not type anything else in the reference field. The system will then automatically allocate the funds to the correct account based on the roll number stated in the reference box.

Your roll number will be given to you when opening your account, it can then be found at the top of your passbook under 'account number' or if you have an app account you will be able to find it on the homepage of the app.  Alternatively, you can contact the Society in branch or on the phone, where a member of staff will be able to help.