Electronic identification
When you make an application with us, we will try to verify your identity electronically before asking for further documentation. This is required by law to verify the true identity of all new and existing customers. Identity checks are an important part in the fight against fraud and other criminal activities.
What happens if we’re unable to identify you electronically?
If we are unable to verify you electronically, we will ask for two forms of identification. We will require one document as proof of name and one as proof of address, please find suitable documentation from our ‘Identification Table’ under the 'What forms of ID do you accept?' section.
Electronic identification
When you make an application with us, we will try to verify your identity electronically before asking for further documentation. This is required by law to verify the true identity of all new and existing customers. Identity checks are an important part in the fight against fraud and other criminal activities.
What happens if we’re unable to identify you electronically?
If we are unable to verify you electronically, we will ask for two forms of identification. We will require one document as proof of name and one as proof of address, please find suitable documentation from our ‘Identification Table’ located in our Proving Your Identity leaflet.
Photocopied Identification
If you are applying by post, please send a certified copy of your proof of name and address.
We will accept documents certified by the following professions:
• Bank or Building Society Official
• Minister of Religion
• Chartered Accountant
• Teacher or Lecturer
• Police Officer
• Councillor
• Dentist/Doctor
• Social Worker
• Mortgage Customers; Broker/Introducer
• Solicitor
The person certifying the copy must sight the original and photocopied document. The photocopy must be certified by:
• Writing ‘Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me’ on the document
• Signing and dating the document
• Printing their name underneath the signature
• Listing their occupation, employer’s address and employer’s telephone number
Standing Orders and Electronic Transfer - To arrange a standing order or single electronic payment to your savings account, you’ll need to give your bank the following details:
Account Name: Monmouthshire Building Society
Sort Code: 40-05-30
Account Number: 14576608
Reference: XXXXXXXXXX (no spaces or hyphens - this is the Monmouthshire Building Society account number you wish to credit).
Cheques - we can no longer accept cheques which are made payable to 'Monmouthshire Building Society'. If you are paying in a cheque given to you by someone else, please ask them to make it payable to you, or if already made payable to the Society, to add your name and account number. For further guidance, please see the leaflet produced by The Building Societies Association, under 'Related Documents'.
Cash - over the counter at any of our Branch or Agency Offices, subject to maximum investment limits. Coins can only be accepted when bagged in the correct denominations, and we can accept a maximum of 5 bags at any one time.
Debit Card - over the counter at any of our Branch Offices (not Agency offices), subject to maximum investment limits.
Yes, but you will need to give us authorisation. Please call us on 01633 844 340 so we can arrange this.
Cash - You can withdraw up to £500 in cash per day from one of our branches or agencies.
Cheque - You can withdraw any amount by cheque from one of our branches or agencies.
Faster Payment - You can also make withdrawals via the Faster Payments service - this is free of charge for any UK payment transaction up to £100,000 (with a minimum withdrawal of £500). If we receive your instructions before 2.00pm on a working day (excluding Saturdays) we will send your payment and debit your account on the same day. Requests received after 2.00pm will be processed the following working day. Requests taken on a Saturday will also be processed the following working day.
These methods of withdrawing are subject to the withdrawal restrictions on your account.
If you will be operating a Monmouthshire Building Society savings account on behalf of another adult applicant(s), you must complete an Official Signatory Form.
A copy of the Trust Deed, Power of Attorney, Will, Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (as applicable) must accompany the form.
Please click here for a copy of the Official Signatory Form, or call us to discuss in more detail.
The easiest way is for all parties concerned to visit a branch or agency with their IDs. If you can't get to a branch or agency, call us on 01633 844 340 and we'll send you the forms by post.
Yes, we accept transfers of cash ISA funds from other ISA managers. Please speak to a colleague for more information.
As we are a building society not a bank, all electronic payments are first received by our bank account. We then have to wait for these to be uploaded to our customers’ accounts, which is done each day before we open for business at 9am.
If you are a registered My Accounts user, it may be that this upload was done after this service was updated in the early hours of the morning. Please be assured, that although there may be a delay in the payment being available for updating on your passbook, or being viewed via My Accounts, it will have been credited to your account as at the date it reached our bank account and that interest will be accrued based on that date.
Finding your interest rate using My Accounts
- If you have a My Accounts log in: You can view your savings account interest rates by logging in then selecting the account you wish to check. The interest rate will appear on the next screen.
- If you do not have a My Accounts log in: Simply visit My Accounts and click register, then complete the registration form. By registering, you'll be able to see your interest rates plus much more, including all your savings transactions, at a time to suit you.
Other Methods
We always recommend using My Accounts, as it's so easy to see your savings and mortgage information all in one place!
However, if you don't want to use My Accounts, you can also do the following to find out your rate:
- Variable Rate Accounts: Visit our Documents page and select savings - you will be able to access current and previous interest rates of all our variable rate savings accounts, both past and present.
- Fixed Rate Accounts: Check your original savings account literature and/or terms and conditions - this will have your rate on it, and as it is a fixed rate account, your rate wont have changed. If you have misplaced your literature, you can call our Savings Customer Services team on 01633 844 340.
Most of our accounts have interest paid at the close of business on 31st March each year. The interest will be added (after tax has been deducted) to your account, or sent to your preferred destination where these details have been provided, and will be available to print on your passbook or view online (via My Accounts if you are a registered user) from the 1st April.
Some of our accounts have different interest periods e.g. Christmas Saver (issue 1 is 30th November and issue 2 is 31st October). Most of our 1 year fixed rate bonds have interest paid on maturity.
You should have been issued with the terms and conditions of your account when you opened it.
However, if you have misplaced the terms and conditions you can request a copy by emailing customerservices@monbs.com
As a result of changes being introduced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in how savings interest is taxed, all banks and building societies will be required to pay interest gross from 6th April 2016.
This means that tax will not be deducted when interest is paid to your account. This will form part of your new Personal Savings Allowance:
- Basic rate tax payers will not pay tax on the first £1,000 of savings income earned.
- Higher rate tax payers will not pay tax on the first £500 of savings income earned.
- Additional rate tax payers will pay tax on all savings income earned.
You will only need to pay tax on any savings income you earn above your Personal Savings Allowance. The new Personal Savings Allowance applies to the total savings income you earn from all banks/building societies and not just from Monmouthshire Building Society. Please note that ISA accounts will continue to be free from UK tax for eligible customers, which means that any interest earned doesn’t count towards your Personal Savings Allowance.
Will I have to do anything?
No, you don’t need to do anything to claim your Personal Savings Allowance. If you’re a basic rate taxpayer and have savings income of more than £1,000 (£500 for higher rate taxpayers), you’ll have to pay some tax on this. But you don’t need to do anything yet.
HMRC will normally collect the tax by changing your tax code. Banks and building societies will give HMRC the information they need to do this.
From 6th April 2016 onwards, any interest on your savings will be paid gross. If you have previously completed an R85 or R105 form these will no longer be required after 6th April 2016. If you fill in a Self Assessment tax return you should carry on doing this as normal.
Further information can be found on the HMRC website where you can find an easy-to-read Personal Savings Allowance fact sheet.
Please give us a call on 01633 844 340 and we will assist.
As we are a building society not a bank, we do not offer online ‘banking’ as such, however the My Accounts Online Portal allows our customers to view information about their mortgage and savings accounts online.
Simply go to My Accounts and click Register, then follow the registration process.
Within three to four working days of registering you will receive confirmation of your Web User Identification Number and activation key via post. Please note – this activation key expires 28 days after issue, so you should use it as soon as you receive it.
Once it’s expired, you will need to follow the ‘Forgotten your security details’ option found on the Welcome page.
Every time you want to use our My Accounts system, you will need to enter:
- your User Identification Number
- your full password
- 2 characters from your memorable information (which you selected when you first registered)
These fields are case sensitive.
If you have forgotten any of this information, please select the Forgotten Password option.
If you are still having trouble and you have accessed My Accounts before, try clearing your cache and deleting all cookies. If you’re not sure how to do this, there’s a helpful guide here.
The Child Trust Fund, or ‘CTF’, was a Government scheme launched in January 2005 with the aim of ensuring all children born between 1st September 2001 and 2nd January 2011 had money saved tax-free by the time they reached the age of 18. The scheme ran up until 2011 and gave the Parents or Guardians of every child born between 1st September 2001 and the closing of the scheme at least £250 to open a Savings account in the child’s name.
A CTF account will protect the funds in the account by not allowing any withdrawals until the child reaches the age of 18. At that point, the child takes full ownership of the account and is able to use the funds for any purpose they wish.
If you have a Child Trust Fund (CTF) with us, we will contact you shortly before your 18th birthday.
The letter will confirm the date at which the account matures and the total amount of money available to you.
This will include any funds added to the account over the years, plus the interest earned on the money in your account.
You will be given a few different options of what you can do with your money, and you will need to let us know which option you want to go for before you can access your savings or start adding to your savings fund.
No - one of the main advantages of the CTF is that the interest you earn is tax-free. Therefore, the amount stated on your maturity letter will be the amount you receive.
As an adult, that choice is down to you.
Some CTF holders will decide to use the money to help pay for a car, holiday or new phone.
However, many will decide to re-invest the funds to keep building for the future. No matter where you are in life, we have a savings account to help meet your goals. Our accounts provide something for everyone. Choose from our range of instant access, notice, annual bonus or tax-free savings. Eligibility to meet product minimum and maximum investment restrictions may apply. Take a look at our full range of savings accounts today!
An ISA is an Individual Savings Account.
It is a savings account that, like the CTF, will allow you to save funds each year without having to pay tax on any interest you earn. Eligibility and investment limits will apply due to the tax advantages these accounts provide.
It’s also worth knowing that savings interest on other non-ISA savings accounts is tax free up to a certain amount anyway – this is called the Personal Savings Allowance. You will only need to pay tax on any savings income you earn above your Personal Savings allowance. You can find more information on your Personal Savings Allowance here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings
The government sets an annual limit on the amount you can save into an ISA each tax year, known as an annual ISA allowance, or subscription. There are different types of ISA accounts available, including cash and stocks and shares investments and a combination of types within the overall annual limits.
Some ISAs allow you to transfer in funds which were saved into an ISA or CTF in previous years. If you do this, the transfer won’t count towards this year’s overall ISA allowance. You could therefore still invest up to the maximum annual ISA limits in the same tax year. (Note: with one exception, if you want to transfer the CTF funds to a Lifetime ISA with another Provider, a subscription made to a Lifetime ISA will count towards the overall Lifetime ISA payment limit).
Most providers will open an ISA product for you to invest your maturing CTF funds. If this happens, your funds will be held, tax-free until you decide what to do with your money. However, you will not be able to make further savings or subscriptions into an ISA until you provide your instructions and an application is accepted.
Monmouthshire Building Society only offers Cash ISAs. You can only subscribe to one Cash ISA each tax year.
If you want to open an ISA with another ISA provider instead, make sure you tell the provider that you will be transferring the funds from ISA to ISA to keep the money tax-free .Don’t close the original account and withdraw your savings as you will lose the tax advantages because if you then opened another ISA, your money would count as this year’s ISA investment and therefore reduce the amount of tax-free funds you can invest up to the annual ISA allowance.
You will find more information on ISAs, investment limits and the accounts we currently have available here https://www.monbs.com/savings/isas/
Some additional information to let you know about ISAs and tax. Tax-free is the contractual rate of interest payable where interest is exempt from income tax. The tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
If you require any help or assistance, please feel free to visit one of our Branches or Agencies, send us an email or give us a call. You will find all of our contact details here https://www.monbs.com/contact-us/
While we can’t offer advice on the best savings option for you, we would be happy to answer any questions you have about our products and how to access your funds.
Our mortgage calculator will give you an indication or what you may be able to borrow - for more specific advice you can make an appointment with one of our mortgage advisers.
From submitting your mortgage application to completion usually takes between 4 and 8 weeks.
Our minimum term is 5 years and our maximum term is 40 years.
If you want to apply for one of our mortgages, please submit a decision in principle (residential mortgages only) or contact one of our Mortgage Advisers.
In addition to your personal details and proof of identity, you will need to provide details of your employment and salary/earnings - if you're employed, you will need to support these details, usually with your last 3 payslips and your p60. If you're self-employed, we usually request 2 years worth of accounts. You will also have to provide details about your financial commitments and living expenses - this is usually supported by 1-month bank statement and a full credit check.
Stage 1: Initial decision
Once we receive your mortgage application, your Mortgage Adviser will send it to our Underwriting department for processing. Your information will be reviewed and, if required, additional information may be requested to enable your application to proceed.
Any fees will also be paid at this stage.
Stage 2: Valuation and references
Once we confirm we are happy to proceed with your application, we will carry out a valuation on your property.
Stage 3: Your mortgage offer
Once we receive a satisfactory valuation report, we will prepare a Mortgage Offer and send it to you and your solicitors. At this stage you should arrange buildings insurance for any new property purchase.
Stage 4: Issuing your funds - completion
Once your solicitor confirms to us that the necessary legal documents have been completed, we will issue the funds to your solicitor to complete the purchase (or the remortgage). We will send you a letter confirming this, which will also detail the payments due and their collection dates.
You can appeal against an underwriting decision if new information has become available that will enable us to review our original decline decision.
Your Mortgage Adviser can submit an appeal request to the Society and a Senior Underwriter will review the decline decision in the first instance.
You may have to pay an Early Repayment Charge is made if you repay your mortgage in full or significantly overpay your mortgage while you are still in your mortgage product deal period. Your Mortgage Adviser will explain how much you can repay in your deal period without incurring an Early Repayment Charge.
Yes, you must have adequate buildings cover in place, ideally from the point of exchange. The Society must be noted as an interested party and a copy of the policy schedule must be provided before completion of the mortgage.
You can pay your mortgage fees online here, or give us a call on 01633 844 360.
Please note, the online payment portal is only for fees such as your valuation fee, it is NOT for monthly repayments.
You can make your mortgage repayments by:
- Direct debit - instructions for setting up a direct debit can be found below
You can make overpayments on your mortgage at any time, but you need to check the conditions of your mortgage as some of our mortgages have a charge for doing so. Information about such charges will be clearly shown on your European Standardised Information Sheet or your Mortgage Offer Key Facts Illustration.
If you want to make arrangements to pay a fixed amount each month by direct debit, which exceeds your registered repayment, please call us on 01633 844 371. Please note, you should check any restrictions that may apply to overpayments on your mortgage. Some schemes may include Early Repayment Charges for overpayments.
To set up a direct debit for your monthly mortgage payments, you will need to complete our direct debit form.
You can fill in the form in branch, or you can print the form here and drop it into a branch or return to our customer services department at the following address:
Mortgage Services
Monmouthshire Building Society
Monmouthshire House
John Frost Square
Newport
South Wales
NP20 1PX
Please make sure you tell us when you want this arrangement to start and what your preferred date for payment is. Please allow 10 days for the arrangement to be set up before the first payment can be requested.
You will be able to see your capital balance (the balance on which interest is being charged) in My Accounts.
Once a year we will also send you a mortgage statement with details of your current balance and the amount of interest that has been charged.
If you are an existing borrower and require an additional loan for home improvements or for a variety of other purposes, we will give you a prompt decision and provide you with a fast and flexible service.
Contact our experienced Advisers who will be pleased to discuss your requirements and fully explain the various options available. Alternatively, why not complete our Mortgage Decision in Principle online form.
If you want to repay your mortgage before the end of the agreed term, you will need to ask us for a redemption statement, which will be calculated for the day you anticipate making the final payment. Interest will be charged to the date the loan is repaid and will be specified in the statement. The statement will also include details of:
- A mortgage exit fee, as shown in our Tariff of Mortgage Charges, which is charged to cover the closing administration costs.
- Any Early Repayment Charge which may be payable, subject to the specific terms of the mortgage product applied to your loan.
To find out how much you will have to pay to redeem your mortgage, please call us on 01633 844 370. We will need your name and mortgaged property address, mortgage account number and the date on which you think you will be repaying your loan.
You can either take out a new mortgage or port your existing mortgage product - more information can be found on our mortgage page for existing customers, or you can book an appointment with one of our Mortgage Advisers to discuss your options. Bear in mind that you may have to pay an Early Repayment Charge depending on the terms and conditions of your current mortgage product.
Under the terms and conditions of your mortgage, you must seek the agreement of the Society if you want to rent out your property.
Please call us on 01633 844 370 to discuss renting your property.
There are certain conditions with which you must comply before the Society will normally consent:
a) The property must only be let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy basis.
b) The rent you charge your tenants must exceed the monthly mortgage interest charge by at least 45%.
c) The loan must not exceed 75 % of the current property value. If you believe that your property has increased in worth since the last valuation then we could arrange for it to be re-valued. You would have to pay a valuation fee for this service.
d) Suitable property insurance must be arranged and evidence provided to the Society (your existing household insurance policy may not cover you if the property is let).
Provided you satisfy all of these conditions the Society would normally consent without imposing any further restrictions. However, any owner-occupied mortgage product discount or tracking rate would automatically be removed and if your mortgage was arranged on an owner-occupied fixed rate this will also need to be reviewed. If your mortgage has been in arrears during the last 3 months, we may ask you to provide more information regarding your ability to meet the higher monthly payments, if any.
IMPORTANT – if you let your property without first seeking, and receiving, the Society’s consent, you will be in breach of your mortgage conditions. Making the enquiries above does not automatically imply our consent will be given, but we will provide written consent if it is granted.
Please get in touch by calling 01633 844 333 as soon as possible and we will do all we can to support you.
We know that circumstances can change and that sometimes this can lead to financial struggles. You are not alone. If you’re having trouble paying your mortgage, or you think you may face difficulty in the future, it’s important to let us know as soon as you can - there are things we may be able to do to help. We will be open and honest with you and look for solutions that suit your individual circumstances.
It would be helpful if when you call you have the following information to hand:
- Details of your income – including any benefits
- Details of your household spend
- Any outstanding debts you have and with who
Other things you can do:
- If you need advice about budgeting or debt, these organisations may be able to help.
- You could also check if you have any insurance policies - payment protection, income protection and similar policies may help to cover your payments.
Please use our Contact page to locate a branch or agency.
Our Contact page gives details of our opening times.
A branch is our own premises, whereas our agencies are based inside another organisation’s premises. For example, an agency may be based inside a solicitors.
Currently all but two of our branches have wheelchair access. The two that don’t, Risca and Monmouth, will be relocated to accessible premises in 2018/2019.
Our branches are also dementia friendly.
When you take out a mortgage or a savings account with us, you will become a member of the Society.
Take a look at our About Us page for more information about being a member.
Please visit our Board page.
Our AGM is held in August each year. All eligible members are invited to attend, and you can expect to receive your invite during July each year. For more details visit our AGM page.
If you have changed your name, for example by marriage or deed poll, you will need to fill in our change of name form and send it to us (head office address below) together with a certified copy of the official document confirming the change (marriage certificate, deed poll document etc).
You can also pop into branch at any time with your official document to fill in the form and request the change.
Our Head Office address is:
Monmouthshire Building Society
Monmouthshire House
John Frost Square
Newport
South Wales
NP20 1PX
To notify us of a change of address, you need to complete a change of address form and send it to our customer services department. If you are a registered My Accounts user, we will accept your request by secure message.
If you are a mortgage customer and you are leaving the property your mortgage is for, please inform us of your arrangements to care for the property and how long you will be away.
You will need to set up a lasting power of attorney - more information on this can be found here: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/setting-up-a-power-of-attorney
The Money Advice Service has advice on this here: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/if-the-person-you-want-to-help-has-lost-mental-capacity
Click here for a guide with information about what to do in this difficult situation.
You can register a bereavement with the Society by calling us on 01633 844 340, writing to us at Monmouthshire House, John Frost Square, Newport, NP20 1PX, or in person at any of our branches or agencies.
If you visit a branch or agency, one of our colleagues will guide you through the process. If at all possible, please call in advance so we can do our best to make sure a suitable colleague and a quiet area are available. We will do all we can to help.
Joint Accounts:
In the case of a joint account, survivorship rules apply. In accordance with our General Terms & Conditions for Savings Accounts, we will transfer the account into the name(s) of the surviving account holder(s). The terms and conditions of the account shall continue unchanged.
Sole Accounts:
Once you’ve informed us of the death of our account holder, the way we administer their account(s) will depend on the amount of savings they held with us in their sole name. You may use the funds to pay any urgent bills, these are limited to funeral costs, inheritance tax or probate court fees. However, all requests to pay these bills must be forwarded to our Head Office and be accompanied by the invoice.
If you wish to make a complaint, please see our official complaints procedure.
Thank you for your interest, we’d love to hear from you! Please visit our careers page for more information.
