Octopus Investments today announced that its cash management solution, Octopus Cash, received £10.4 million of new deposits in the week commencing 16th March, a record for a single week, as savers look for safe havens for their cash. This also helped make Q1 a record quarter, with £91 million in new inflows, and £44 million in net inflows (after withdrawals).
This means Octopus Cash has now reached £300 million in cash deposited, which now stands at £302 million. However, this figure is set to rise again quickly, with more than £34 million of new applications already being processed.
This has been driven by a 46% rise in the number of inbound enquiries in March compared to the average month. The average deposit also increased by 26% from £133,000 to £166,000, with savers keen to take advantage of the significant FSCS coverage that Octopus Cash offers.
Octopus Cash allows individuals, businesses, charities, and trusts to find a top tier return on their cash savings without the need for regular switching. It offers notice accounts and fixed-term deposits of between 35 days and 24 months, with top tier rates and FSCS coverage of up to £680,0001.
It does this by splitting customer deposits between its different partner banks, which offer £85,000 of FSCS coverage per customer, per bank. This means savers can currently access up to 8 times the standard FSCS protection limit by opening a single account with Octopus. The minimum deposit is £1,000.
Caroline Flagg, Head of Octopus Cash, comments:
“In the current climate, cash offers the ultimate security for many people, and that’s why we’re seeing this surge in deposits. In some cases, these are savers looking for better rates, but lots of people are also using Octopus Cash for more ‘tactical’ reasons. This might be someone waiting to invest into equity markets, or perhaps someone who has sold some of their existing investments to hold a portion in cash.
“We’ve also found that some individuals and businesses hold large amounts of cash with a single bank, often several times the FSCS limit. In those cases, savers are now keen to spread this across several banks to make sure they are covered. Rather than opening accounts with six or seven different banks, which can be extremely time consuming, Octopus Cash makes that process quick and easy with one single account.
“While the Bank of England’s base rate decision was more bad news for savers with high street banks, the challenger banks on our platform continue to offer top tier rates. In some cases, they have actually put their rates up in the last week. Not to mention the fact you don’t have the hassle of shopping around and switching.”
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For journalists in their professional capacity only. Personal opinions may change and should not be seen as advice or a recommendation. Octopus Cash is provided by Octopus Co-Lend Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (722801). Registered office is 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT. Octopus Cash is managed on a day to day basis by Octopus Institutional Deposits Limited. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. Registered in England and Wales No. 10163532. Issued by Octopus Investments Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. Registered in England and Wales No. 3942880. Issued April 2020.