Premium Bonds now available to buy online
The new and improved website also features a savings selector – Need help to decide? – which asks customers a series of questions about their savings and investments needs and then suggests the NS&I products which may suit them best.
Another new service - Request updates - allows customers to register with NS&I to receive regular updates by e-mail when NS&I’s interest rates change and when future Guaranteed Equity Bond issues become available. More update services will be available in the future.
Buying Premium Bonds online
The secure and simple purchasing process – Premium Bonds - invest now – is available to new and existing customers and takes just a few minutes to complete, using a Switch/Maestro or Visa debit card to pay. Credit cards cannot be used.
Customers select how much they want to invest, starting with a minimum of £100 then in multiples of £10, up to the maximum investment limit of £30,000 per person. Personal and address details are requested and, in the final stage, debit card details are entered and the purchase is completed. Customers then exit the secure area of the website.
Customers will be sent an e-mail which confirms receipt of their application and gives a reference number. First-time customers will then receive a confirmation letter by post which needs to be signed and returned to NS&I within 21 days of their application. They may also be asked to provide further evidence of identity. Once the signed form has been received, NS&I will send the customer a welcome pack together with their Premium Bonds, which are backdated to the date the online application was made.
Existing customers who already hold Premium Bonds will simply be sent their new Bonds – they will not have to sign and return any paperwork.
It is only possible for people aged 16 and over to buy Premium Bonds online and they must be in the purchaser’s own name – it is not possible to buy for children or grandchildren.
One complete calendar month following the purchase will pass before the Bonds go into the first draw, so, if a customer buys in February, they will go into the April draw and every monthly draw after, unless the customer cashes in their Bonds.
The option to buy Premium Bonds online is another feature of NS&I’s long-term plan to develop Premium Bonds and to make it easier for customers to save and invest. This started in May 2003 when the maximum investment limit was raised to £30,000 per person.
Telephone sales were launched in July 2004 and, in October 2004, NS&I introduced a regular payments scheme enabling customers to set up a monthly standing order.
Savings made easy
NS&I sales director, John Prout, said:
“People with money to save or invest are often pressed for time to sort out their finances. An online resource makes it much easier for customers to save when it suits them, in their lunch break or in a few minutes at the weekend.
“Our online Premium Bonds facility is straightforward and simple to use and is as easy as going online to buy a book or CD, or order some flowers.
“Overall, our new website will make it easier for customers to understand which of our savings and investments is right for them and provide them with a greater opportunity to choose NS&I as the safest home for their money.”
Faster, easier to use website
The NS&I website has been designed to enable customers to navigate easily within the website based on their individual needs. New areas, like saving for children or seeking, tax-free savings, focus on customer needs rather than simply promoting the savings and investments NS&I has to offer.
NS&I head of e-Business, Joe Dall, said:
“We designed the new website from a customer point of view and tested the new design with customers to ensure it was as easy and intuitive to use as possible.
“The new website is faster to use because of the way it has been designed, and customers will see this in the speed at which new pages upload as they move around the website – even if they don’t use broadband.
“The Premium Bond prize checker has also been made more robust to ensure it provides customers with a quality service every month. “Later this year we will introduce more features to make the experience of using our website and saving and investing online with NS&I even better.”
Online security
The secure sales process is protected by a 128-bit SSL (secure socket layer) encryption system, the current industry standard for online sales.
The SSL is in operation if the security icon – the locked padlock or unbroken key symbol – is shown in the lower right hand corner of the browser window and the beginning of the NS&I website address changes from ‘http’ to ‘https’. Depending on browser settings a pop-up window may appear, notifying the user that they will be entering a secure page.
The security certificates used on the NS&I website have been issued by Verisign, a recognised security certificate vendor, and in order to receive these, several key company credentials have to be met.
And, for more security, personal information is not stored on NS&I’s web servers – it is held on separate, protected servers that have no direct public access and very sensitive debit card information is not only encrypted but also deleted after the application is complete.
Notes to Editors
- High resolution (300 dpi) images of individuals (male and female, various ages) using the new NS&I website are available. Contact the NS&I media team for more information.
- NS&I’s website went live on 24 January 2005 and was designed by Lloyd Northover, the branding and design specialists, who have been working with NS&I for over six years. LN was responsible for developing a fresh new identity that reflected NS&I's relevance to the modern saver and investor, and defining a unique place for its HM Treasury-backed products in a competitive market. LN is an autonomous company within the design and branding division of Incepta Group plc.
- The website was developed by Wheel, NS&I’s strategic digital development partner since 1998, concentrating on web development. The website is hosted by Siemens Business Services, NS&I’s business partner since 1999.
- NS&I is the exclusive sponsor of The Classical BRIT Awards, the UK's premier classical music awards show, at the Royal Albert Hall on 25 May 2005.