Savings accounts
Savings accounts
ClearBank supports singular and joint savings accounts. A savings account is an FSCS-protected account that can accrue interest on behalf of a customer. If you'd like access to this product, please speak to your Client Director.
ClearBank supports the following savings account types:
- Single customer savings accounts – held by one retail or business customer.
- Joint savings accounts – held by two or more retail customers.
- Junior savings accounts (ages 16–17) – held by one retail customer aged 16 or 17 and identified using a dedicated ProductId.
- Under-16 (U16) savings accounts – held in the name of a parent or guardian; no child customer record is required.
You can choose how much interest to pay customers. ClearBank will calculate accruals and post regular interest payments. For information on how to set up interest configurations, refer to Interest configuration.
Single savings accounts
To create a single savings account, create a retail or business customer, then include their customer ID in the customers array when calling POST /v2/savings.
Joint savings accounts
To create a joint savings account, include multiple customer IDs in the customers array when calling POST /v2/savings. All customers must be retail customers.
Junior savings accounts
Savings accounts for customers aged 16–17 are created using the standard POST /v2/savings endpoint. The productId provided in the request identifies the account as a Junior savings account.
To create a product identification for this account type, please speak to your Client Director.
Under-16 (U16) savings accounts
Under-16 savings accounts are created using using the standard POST /v2/savings endpoint in the name of the parent or guardian. The productId provided in the request identifies the account as a Junior savings account.
No customer record or customer ID is required for the child.
To create a product identification for this account type, please speak to your Client Director.
Savings account creation summary
| Account type | Endpoint | Customers provided | Identification method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single savings account | POST /v2/savings | One retail customer ID | None |
| Joint savings account | POST /v2/savings | Multiple retail customer IDs | Customers array |
| 16–17 savings account | POST /v2/savings | One retail customer ID | Junior ProductId |
| Under-16 savings account | POST /v2/savings | Parent/guardian retail customer only | U16 ProductId |
To create a savings account:
- Check that you already have a customer defined. This can be a retail or business customer. If you need to create a retail customer, use the Create a retail customer endpoint.
- Use the POST /v2/savings endpoint to create the account on behalf of the customer.
The
interestConfigurationIdfield is used to provide the initial interest configuration ID when creating the savings account (refer to Interest configuration). - Set the nominated account using the PUT /v1/accounts/{accountId}/nominated-account endpoint.
Note: A nominated account is the account that accrued interest, if any, will be transferred into upon closure of the savings account. Name matching between accounts is your responsibility.
Once you have opened a savings account, you can deposit and withdraw payments using the Faster Payments or CHAPS payment endpoints. Incoming or outgoing Bacs payments are not accepted.
You can retrieve information on all savings accounts by using the GET /v3/accounts endpoint and filtering for savings accounts, or retrieve information for a specific savings account through the GET /v3/Accounts/{accountId} endpoint.
You can amend a savings account with the PATCH /v1/accounts/{accountId} endpoint.
To retrieve end of day balances for a savings account, use the camt.053 endpoints.
To close a savings account:
- Withdraw all funds from the account.
- Verify that a nominated account has been defined. You can obtain details of the currently configured nominated account using the GET /v1/accounts/{accountId}/nominated-account endpoint.
- Use the POST /v1/accounts/{id}/closure endpoint.
The process is asynchronous and can take longer if an interest calculation is pending. Unpaid accrued interest, if any, will be deposited into the nominated account. If there is no interest to be paid, then it's possible to close the account without a nominated account being defined.
- OPTIONAL Check closure status using the GET /v1/accounts/{id}/closure endpoint.
- The Account Closure Completed webhook will be sent once the account has closed.
Account closure may fail due to the nominated account details being incorrect. You will know from the ClosureFailureReason field in the Account Closure Failed webhook.
See the following possible combinations of accountStatus and closureStatus:
| accountStatus | closureStatus | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled | None | No closure request submitted |
| Enabled | Pending | Closure requested, interest being calculated |
| Enabled | Failed | Closure request failed, see closureFailureReasons field for details |
| Suspended | Pending | Closure requested for suspended account, interest being calculated |
| Closed | Complete | Closure completed successfully |
To reset the nominated account and close the account:
- OPTIONAL Obtain details of the currently configured nominated account using the GET /v1/accounts/{accountId}/nominated-account endpoint.
- Correct the nominated account details using the PUT /v1/accounts/{accountId}/nominated-account endpoint.
- Use the POST /v1/accounts/{id}/closure endpoint.
The process is asynchronous. Unpaid accrued interest, if any, will be deposited into the nominated account.
- OPTIONAL Check closure status using the GET /v1/accounts/{id}/closure endpoint.
- The Account Closure Completed webhook will be sent once the account has closed.
Example request bodies for creating a savings account with multiple customers
Example joint account with two customers
{"ownerName": "John and Jane Smith","sortCode": "010203","productId": "1a2b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d","customers": [{"customerId": "0f1e2d3c-4b5a-6c7d-8e9f-0a1b2c3d4e5f","customerId": "abcdef12-3456-7890-1234-56789abcdef0"}],"interestConfigurationId": "1234abcd-5678-9ef0-1234-56789abcdef0"}
While joint accounts will typically have two customers, we can support any amount with a valid use case.
Example joint account with four customers
{"ownerName": "John Smith, Jane Smith, Steve Doe, and Emily Doe","sortCode": "010203","productId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-a7b8-c9d0-e1f2a3b4c5d6","customers": [{"customerId": "9f8e7d6c-5b4a-3c2d-1e0f-9a8b7c6d5e4f","customerId": "0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6a7b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d","customerId": "f1e2d3c4-b5a6-c7d8-e9f0-a1b2c3d4e5f6","customerId": "2b3c4d5e-6f7a-8b9c-0d1e-2f3a4b5c6d7e"}],"interestConfigurationId": "4d5e6f7a-8b9c-0d1e-2f3a-4b5c6d7e8f9a"}