NS&I has issued a statement after reports of customers facing delays in cashing in their Premium Bonds.
A customer contacted the provider over social media on May 9 frustrated that they had put in a request to cash in their Bonds on May 2, but the funds had yet to arrive in their account.
They said: “It’s still not in my bank and I’m running out of money. What’s the hold up? You told me I’d have it by now so want to check what’s happening.”
When making a request to cash in your Bonds, if you do so online or by phone before 8pm, it will typically take two working days for your funds to arrive. If you make the request after 8pm, it will usually take three days.
An NS&I spokesperson said: “We are not experiencing any delays to Premium Bonds repayments. Withdrawals made online or by phone will typically take two working days to reach the nominated bank account.”
However, the group added that timescales can be different in other cases: “Timings will vary if it is a postal application.”
The group also said there can be delays in payments going through owing to other reasons, such as additional security checks, interbank processing or incorrect information being provided for the nominated bank account.
The NS&I website has a payment timeline calculator you can use to work out how long it will take for your funds to arrive when cashing in Premium Bonds or withdrawing from other NS&I savings.
Customers are advised to allow an additional day on top of the standard wait time for their funds to be paid out when there is a bank holiday.
Premium Bonds savers may have been thinking about cashing in their Bonds recently as the prize fund rate for the savings scheme has dropped again.
The prize rate fell from 4% down to the current 3.8% from the April draw. The odds of each £1 Bond winning are 22,000 to one.
Another unhappy customer recently contacted NS&I as they had not received a message to notify them of a prize while their husband had, yet they had both signed up for text alerts.
A spokesperson for the provider explained: “Nine in 10 Premium Bonds prizes are paid directly into our customers bank accounts.
“People can choose to receive an alert either via text or email and can update their preferences at any time by logging into their online account at www.nsandi.com.
“In this case it maybe that they have set up different preferences in their online account for how they receive their notifications.”
The NS&I website has a prize checker tool you can use to find out if you have won a prize.
