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Find out more'Why can't I transfer my Isa?'
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I paid into a cash Isa with HSBC and a further sum into a Coventry Building Society Isa.
Later in the same tax year (2024-25), I tried to make a partial transfer from the HSBC Isa into the Coventry Isa, as Coventry had a better interest rate, but HSBC wouldn’t allow it.
Am I breaking Isa rules?
A Which? Money reader
'It's your bank that's the problem, not you'
Bill Wilkinson-Hoy, Which? Money expert, says...
You’re not breaking any Isa rules: HSBC’s own T&Cs are holding you back.
In the past, if you had paid money into an Isa and then wanted to transfer some money to a different Isa during the same tax year, you had to transfer the entire balance.
But since 6 April 2024, the rules have been relaxed and you can transfer part of your balance, even if you paid into the Isa that tax year.
Isa providers aren’t obliged to implement the new rules
However, Isa providers aren’t obliged to implement the new rules, as you’ve discovered.
Instead, you could transfer your entire HSBC Isa over, assuming there aren’t any penalties (for example, fixed-rate accounts may charge you an interest penalty if you withdraw money or close the account before the fixed period ends).
Another rule change since April 2024 is that you can now open and pay into an unlimited number of Isas in the same tax year, within the £20,000 annual Isa limit.
This means there’s no need to put up with poor interest rates until the next tax year, as was previously the case.
- Find out more: Best cash Isas 2025
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