Octopus Investments today announced that its cash management solution, Octopus Cash, has reached the £200 million milestone in cash deposited, with more than 550 advisers registered and using the platform. This comes just 7 months after it reached £100 million, with total deposits growing at 11% month on month.
The growing popularity of Octopus Cash among financial advisers has been supported by the Cash Hub, launched in February, which is an easy to use platform facilitating access to key client information and a smooth onboarding process.
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 fixed-term deposits of between 35 days and 24 months, with top tier rates and FSCS coverage of up to £510,0001.
Octopus Cash does this by splitting customer deposits between its different partner banks, which offer £85,000 of FSCS coverage per customer, per bank. This means advisers and their clients can access up to five times the standard FSCS protection limit by opening a single account with Octopus.
The minimum deposit is £1,000, however, the average deposit is over £125,000, with many advisers and their clients keen to take advantage of the increased FSCS coverage that Octopus Cash offers.
Charlie Taylor, head of Octopus Cash, comments:
“Awareness of cash management solutions like Octopus Cash continues to grow and particularly in the current economic and political climate, many advisers and their clients immediately recognise the advantages they offer. This might be someone postponing a big investment into equity markets, or perhaps someone who wants to liquidate some of their existing holdings and hold a portion in cash.
“Cash offers the ultimate security for many people, and while the majority of high street banks continue to offer paltry rates, Octopus Cash offers a hassle-free alternative by actively managing their clients’ cash as part of the advice process. The increased FSCS coverage is also a big selling point to those with larger deposits and the reduced admin often means Octopus Cash is a serious time saver.”
Octopus Group recently agreed a deal to acquire wealthtech start-up Seccl – subject to regulatory approval – as it set out to disrupt the platform market. Once the deal completes, Octopus Cash will be integrated into the Seccl technology stack, meaning that any firm building a platform using Seccl’s API first technology, or using the Octopus full-service platform, will have easy access to a top tier interest rate.
Sam Handfield-Jones, co-head of Seccl:
“At present most platforms offer zero return on their client’s cash holdings – which is shocking really. Excitingly, platforms built with Seccl’s API first technology will be super simple to integrate with Octopus Cash, meaning wealth managers and advice firms can easily access a competitive interest rate on cash deposits without having to withdraw the money.”
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Notes to editors:
1 For a 1-year fixed term deposit as of 20th August 2019
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 August 2019.