Banking & Investment
NatWest BankFor PCCs within the Bath and Wells Diocese that bank with NatWest, you will either be classed as a Commercial Customer or a Business Customer. Commercial CustomerAll those that are part of the Cash Management Scheme (CMS). You have access to their Corporate Service Team via one of the following:
Please contact this team for these subjects: Cash Management Scheme (CMS)This is a scheme offered by NatWest Bank and has been in existence for over 20 years for PCCs with the two dioceses of Bath & Wells and Gloucester. The aim was to provide PCCs with a reasonable level of interest on their bank current accounts, with around 400 participating accounts in 2021. By pooling all participating bank account balances daily, larger sums can be placed on deposit, generating a higher rate of interest return on an instant access current account. These deposits take the form of 12m Fixed Interest Treasury deposits or 95-day notice accounts. Cash in your participating account should be that which you need to have access to on a regular basis as this scheme is less appropriate for longer-term funds. Business CustomerIf your turnover is less than £2m and your account is not part of the Cash Management Scheme. Your NatWest help and support can be obtained from the Businessline team for your day-to-day account queries: Telephone 0345 711 44 77 NatWest “Know Your Customer” Due Diligence for accounts including Parochial Church Councils – 2021From time to time and in line with the Financial Conduct Authority regulatory standards and timeframes, NatWest needs to undertake periodic reviews on their customers to ensure they have the most up to date information. They are reviewing our accounts and your Parochial Church Council account may be included within the review, requiring some action from account holders. Longstanding NatWest accounts have not had any information gathered about them for some time and this exercise is designed to improve the bank’s required record keeping. NatWest have chosen to conduct this through an electronic self-serve portal which will require you to sign in and update/certify details on key principals, signatories & identification documents etc.
There is a dedicated team to help with this should you need any help or difficulty working through the online portal, their number is 020 3416 5001. HSBC’s Safeguard Policy for Bank AccountsA number of banks have automated their processes to verify accounts, to comply with anti-money-laundering (financial crime) laws. Unfortunately, this applies to every sort of account, even church ones and accounts that have been in existence for very many years. A good number of parishes have raised concerns in particular about HSBC's ‘safeguard’ process, which is their response to these laws. They have now issued a guide for churches on their safeguard compliance process https://www.parishbuying.org.uk/images/documents/safeguard-guide-for-religious-organisations.pdf.
Notifying NatWest of management changesIt is very important that you notify the bank of any changes for the following, to ensure ease of communication and operations:
Switching your account to NatWest from another bank
Churches, Charities and Local Authorities (CCLA)CBF Deposit FundThis is an instant access account and is a place to keep money which is not needed immediately but is expected to be spent in the next 2 – 5 years. CBF Investment FundThis is not a bank account, but pooled fund investment. The CCLA Investment managers invest in a range of products which meet the Church of England ethical guidelines. The capital and income returns are not guaranteed, so this is more suited for longer term investments, particularly if the PCC wishes to generate an income stream. For further information on the options that CCLA offer please click this link. Investing a PCC’s cash reservesThe national stewardship team has produced a short paper to guide PCCs through the wide range of alternatives for investments which are not equity linked, along with guidance on developing a policy on the level of reserves. Accepting payments by credit cardIf you accept payments by credit card, there are a couple of matters you need to be aware of:
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