Premium Bonds 8-day deadline warning over refunds arriving in bank accounts

A couple check their bills
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


NS&I has shared some key information about Premium Bonds refunds, following an enquiry from a customer awaiting a payment. A saver posted a query about the status of their refund request: "I posted an application on Thursday 12 September for some Premium Bonds refund, but not heard anything yet. What is the turnaround time please?"

Premium Bonds offers the flexibility for customers to cash in their savings whenever they choose, and they can use phone or online services to carry out the transaction. In reply to the query, NS&I assured: "The form will take up to eight working days to process and the funds to be paid to your bank account."

To help savers understand how long their payments will take to arrive, NS&I's website includes a 'payment timeline calculator' tool which estimates how soon payments should be completed. For instance, those cashing in Premium Bonds today, September 19, before 8pm, can expect their money to arrive by September 23, according to the tool.

However, this timeline prediction applies only to individual withdrawals from a single account. If you are making numerous withdrawals at once, there is separate guidance available on the website. NS&I also allows for selective cash-ins of bonds, keeping others in play for the monthly draw, which can be arranged using a form on their site.

Another enquiry came from a customer keen to understand how to purchase Premium Bonds for family overseas: "I want to buy Bonds for my grandchildren in Australia. How do I do this?" NS&I responded by stating: "To open a Premium Bonds account for your grandchildren in Australia, the responsible parents of the child will need to hold a UK current bank account.

"This is because we can only make payments to, and receive payments from, a UK account in pounds sterling." Parents or legal guardians of a child under the age of 16 can buy Bonds for them child online, by phone or by post.

An individual buying Bonds for another person's child can do so online or by post. Once the child turns 16, they will then take over managing their Bonds.