Flagstone Customer Reviews
Leave a review and tell us what you think to help others make more informed financial decisions.
Excellent platform; easy to use and efficient
Great range of banks and savings accounts, accessible through a very good website that is easy to use, and very efficient
Eady to use
Top site, easy to use
Flagstone Expert Review
In this review of Flagstone, we are going to explain how this innovative platform works. We’ll also look at its fees and charges, the minimum deposit, and the level of protection it offers customers. If you’re looking to generate interest on your cash savings, you may want to check out Flagstone.
Flagstone Savings Platform Review
Name: Flagstone
Description: Flagstone is a British FinTech company that offers a cash deposit platform. It was founded in 2013 with the aim of revolutionising the UK cash deposit and savings market. Through the Flagstone platform, you can access high-interest savings accounts from more than 60 different partner banks and building societies. Partners include the likes of HSBC, Santander, Aldermore, and Shawbrook. Flagstone’s clients include individuals, businesses, and wealth managers (the platform is used by major wealth managers such as St. James’s Place and Killik & Co). Overall, it has assets under administration of over £14 billion.
Is Flagstone a good savings platform?
Yes, through the Flagstone platform, you can access hundreds of different high-interest savings accounts including instant access, notice, fixed-term, and Sharia accounts. Many of these accounts have excellent interest rates (some even have exclusive interest rates that can’t be found elsewhere).
Once you have an account with the company, you can spread your money out over many different savings accounts and banks without having to complete an application for each individual savings account. So, for example, if you have £150,000 to deposit, you could potentially put £50,000 with three different banks.
You can move, place, or spread your deposits 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, it’s worth pointing out that there is no app for the platform at the moment – it can only be accessed through an internet browser.
In terms of customer protection, eligible deposits are protected up to £85,000 per depositor per UK bank (£170,000 for joint accounts). So, if you plan on depositing more than £85,000 with Flagstone, spreading your cash out over several different banks on the platform is sensible.
One drawback of Flagstone is that not all banks are on the platform. So, it doesn’t offer access to the whole market, but with 200+ accounts from 67 banks what Flagstone offers is substantially more than any other platform.
Another issue to be aware of is that it can take 24 hours (or sometimes longer) for your cash to be transferred from your holding account to your chosen savings account. So, you may miss out on interest for a day or two.
Pros
- You can access hundreds of accounts through one application, saving a lot of time.
- Flagstone has more partner banks than most other cash deposit platforms.
- The platform offers competitive interest rates.
Cons
- It can take 24 hours or longer for your cash to be transferred from your holding account to your chosen savings account on weekends and bank holidays.
- The minimum deposit to open a Flagstone account is currently £10,000.
- The application process can take a while.
- Interset rates are not as good as going direct.
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Pricing
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Market Access
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App & Platform
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Customer Service
Overall
4.1Ratings explained:
- Pricing: Customers only see net prices, but there is no cost scale available on the website.
- Market Access: Of all the savings platforms we test Flagstone offers the most bank account access.
- Apps & Platform: No app and no issues with the simple-to-use website.
- Customer Service: We got straight through on the phone when we had a question about ISA accounts. There is no live chat function, though.
How much does Flagstone charge in fees?
With Flagstone, there is no fee to open an account. There are also no ongoing administration or management fees.
As for how the platform makes money, it uses a ‘share of interest’ model where it takes a small cut of its partner banks’ interest rates (up to 0.30%). However, this is deducted before any rates appear on the platform so the rate that you see will always be the rate that you receive.
To put that in perspective, if you save the minimum deposit required open a Flagstone account (which is currently £10,000) you will lose out on £30 in interest per year. But as Flagstone only shows the net rate (the rate you will receive) it doesn;t feel like a charge but it is.
So, in theory, you can earn more interest by going to the provider directly; the disadvantage of this, of course, is that you have to open up lots of different savings accounts. So you are sacrificing (paying) a little bit for the convenience of having lots of different savings accounts and providers in one place.
Is Flagstone safe?
Flagstone should be considered trustworthy. The company is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Payment Service Regulations 2017 for the provision of payment services. Meanwhile, all the UK-based banks and building societies on its platform are members of the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS). So, eligible deposits are protected up to £85,000 per depositor per UK bank (£170,000 for joint accounts).
Does Flagstone have an ISA?
No, Flagstone does not offer ISA accounts. But, as the minimum deposit on the Flagstone savings platform is £10,000, it’s safe to assume that Flagstone caters to higher-value accounts that would quickly fall outside the ISA limits.
When we phoned Flagstone to test their customer service to ask about the availability of the ISA, they said they were looking at it but had no immediate plans to launch an ISA product.
Flagstone Alternatives
If you’re looking for alternatives to Flagstone, here are a few other similar platforms you may wish to consider:
- Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings – This also allows you to access savings accounts from different banks through one account.
- AJ Bell Cash Savings Hub – Through AJ Bell’s Savings Hub you can access fixed-term deposit and notice accounts.
- Raisin – Raisin offers a savings marketplace where you can access many different types of accounts.
- Aviva Save – Aviva is one of the UK’s largest insurance and investment management companies.
You can see how Flagstone compares to other savings platforms in the comparison table below:
Savings Platform | Highest Interest Rate | Savings Accounts | Minimum Deposit | FSCS Protected | GMG Rating | More Info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.85% | 17 | £1,000 | ✔️ | See Rates | ||
4.9% | 64 | £1 | ✔️ | See Rates | ||
4.65% | 1 | £1 | ✔️ | See Rates | ||
4.88% | 67 | £10,000 | ✔️ | See Rates |
Flagstone Facts & Figures:
In a nutshell:
- Flagstone is a UK FinTech company that offers a cash deposit platform.
- Through the savings platform you can access savings accounts from over 60 different banks and building societies.
- The minimum deposit with Flagstone is £10,000.
- Eligible deposits are protected up to £85,000 per depositor per UK bank (£170,000 for joint accounts).
👉Number Active Clients | Over 600,000 |
💰Minimum Deposit | £10,000 |
🏦Deposits on Account | £14bn+ |
❔Inactivity Fee | No |
📅 Founded | 2013 |
ℹ️ Public Company | ❌ |
🏢 Head Office | London, UK |
Fees | Up to 0.3% |
ISA Account | ❌ |
Cash Deposit | ✔️ |
Instance Access | ✔️ |
Notice Account | ✔️ |
Fixed Term | ✔️ |
Pension | ❌ |
Investing | ❌ |
Flagstone FAQs
No, Flagstone is not a bank. It’s a financial technology company that operates a cash deposit platform. But, Flagstone does offer access to bank savings accounts through it’s cash deposit platform.
Currently, there is no Flagstone app. So, you can only access the platform through a web browser. If you want a savings platform with an app, you can check out Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings or Raisin, which offer similar services.
No, it doesn’t. If you’re looking for advice, you’ll need to speak to a financial adviser. But you can use Flagstone’s comparison tables and guides to help you choose a savings account. To see the main differences between the different types read our guide to savings accounts.
Holdings accounts with Flagstone are provided by HSBC. This means that when your cash is deposited on the Flagstone platform and not allocated to a savings account it is in an HSBC bank account.
A cash deposit platform is an online platform that allows you to open and manage multiple savings accounts from multiple banks, all with one application.
In the unlikely event that there is an issue with one of its partner banks, Flagstone will carry out a FSCS claim on behalf of its clients. It’s worth noting that all accounts on the Flagstone Platform are ‘segregated client trust accounts’ meaning that your money is being held separately to banks’ own capital.