---

Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

The amendment would amend Clause 4(3) so that regulations may impose a minimum and maximum limit on the amount that may be paid into an account in a month. As the Committee may be aware, the draft regulations, which have been published, already impose a maximum of £25 per month limit on the amount that may be paid into an account. They do not specify a minimum amount. The noble Baroness has indicated that her amendment is intended to enable regulations to impose a minimum limit per transaction on the amount that may be deposited into an account. We understand that providers may have concerns about the transactional costs of being required to accept numerous low-value deposits. There is nothing in the Bill or the regulations to prevent a provider setting a minimum per transaction limit for deposits in saving gateway accounts to bring them into line with a provider’s general practice for accepting counter deposits. That seems to be the most effective way of addressing this matter as those banks that are most efficient will see the greatest opportunity to cultivate a new target market or to make an important social contribution that will reach their own determination rather than one set by law or regulation. I therefore do not believe that the amendment would add anything to the Bill and I hope that the noble Baroness will withdraw it.