Mortgage overpayments
Overpaying your mortgage, through regular overpayments or lump sums, can help reduce the total interest you pay on your loan and may allow you to pay off your mortgage sooner.
But overpaying may not be the best option for everyone. Depending on interest rates and your financial situation, you might be better putting your money into savings or investments.
Here we'll take a look at the "what, why and how" of mortgage overpayments to help you decide.
What is a mortgage overpayment?
A mortgage overpayment is an extra payment you make on top of your usual monthly mortgage repayment. Your lender will set your monthly repayment amount when you take out your mortgage and will let you know if this changes - for example when a fixed, discounted or tracker deal comes to an end or if interest rate changes.
If your financial situation allows, you can overpay by:
• Regular overpayments: Usually made as a monthly standing order from your bank account.
• Lump sum overpayments: One off payments, made as and when you want, usually by faster payment or card.
What happens when you make an overpayment?
If you overpay less than £1,000
• Your mortgage balance reduces straight away
• Your monthly payments stay the same
• Your mortgage term stays the same
• We won't send a confirmation letter - but you can see your updated balance by logging into your account online, in the app or by calling us.
If you overpay £1,000 or more
• Your mortgage balance reduces straight away
• You can choose to:
- reduce your monthly payments or
- shorten your mortgage term or
- allocate the overpayment to a specific part of your mortgage (if applicable)
Please tell us which one you want at the time of making the overpayment
• If you ask us to make a change, we’ll send you a confirmation letter.
• If we haven't received instructions for your overpayment, your balance will still reduce but your payments and term will remain the same until there is a change to your mortgage (such as an interest rate change or your mortgage deal ends).
Why overpayments may work for you
Overpayments can reduce the size of your mortgage balance while also reducing the amount of interest you pay. This means that you could have less to pay in the future and may have a greater chance of repaying your mortgage in full earlier than you had originally planned.
How do I overpay with The Cambridge?
You can overpay on your mortgage by faster payment, standing order, in branch or over the phone with a debit card.
Confirmation of Payee
We use Confirmation of Payee (CoP) to help make sure UK Faster Payments are sent to the right account.
When paying money electronically into your savings or mortgage account with us, please use your full name exactly as it appears on your account.
You may see one of the following results:
- Match - The name matches. You can continue with the payment if you’re happy to do so.
- Close match - The name on the account is not an exact match. It could be an abbreviation or a spelling mistake. If you recognise it, you can continue or double check the details before continuing.
- No match - The payee’s name doesn't match. Double check the payee’s details and don’t continue if you're unsure.
Good to know
- Warnings and messages may be worded differently depending on your bank.
- You may see Barclays Bank PLC (or their logo) details instead of The Cambridge Building Society. This is because payments are processed through our account with Barclays Bank.
- New accounts can take up to 48 hours to appear within the CoP name checking system.
- If you're worried about a payment or think you've been targeted by a scam, contact us straight away on 0345 601 3344. There’s more information here, on spotting and and reporting fraud.
Opting out of CoP
CoP is designed to protect you and your money. Because of this, only consider opting out in very limited circumstances. Find out more.
If you feel you need to opt out, please contact us on 0345 601 3344 so we can understand your situation and consider your request
Things to consider before overpaying your mortgage
Pay from the UK
Via bank transfer
- Name: Must match the name on the account you’re paying into
- Sort Code: 20-17-55
- Account Number: 40338346
- Reference: Your Cambridge Building Society account number, either: a 10-digit number or ‘CB’ followed by eight numbers. The digit following the letters is a zero e.g. CB01234567
Important: Always use your account number as the reference so we can credit your payment correctly.
Debit Card Payments
- Pay in branch or by phone: 0345 601 3344.
Pay from overseas
You can make an international payment using a SWIFT transfer:
- SWIFT/BIC: BARCGB22
- Bank account name: Cambridge Building Society
- IBAN: GB27BARC20175540338346
- Reference: Your Cambridge Building Society account number, either: a 10-digit number or ‘CB’ followed by eight numbers. The digit following the letters is a zero e.g. CB01234567
- Amount: Payment amount and currency
We’ll be here
If you have any other questions about your mortgage, call us on 0345 601 3344 and we'll be happy to help.
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