Banks, building societies and credit unions

If your bank, building society or credit union fails and can’t pay back your money, FSCS can automatically pay you compensation. Your provider must be authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) - you can check this on the Financial Services Register.

London Community Credit Union Limited
FSCS has stepped in to protect the members of London Community Credit Union Limited (LCCU) which has stopped trading and is now in default. Customers of LCCU may have received an email inviting them to use the FSCS Payments Portal. Please visit our Help and information page if you have any questions.

If you haven’t received an email or can’t access the portal, please don’t worry as we’ll automatically send your payment by cheque within seven working days.

FSCS Payments Portal - help and information

Banks, building societies and credit unions

If the firm failed after 1 January 2017

If you hold money with a UK-authorised bank, building society or credit union that fails, we’ll automatically compensate you up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union.

Shared banking licenses

Where you hold your money could affect how much compensation you’re entitled to. If you have money in multiple accounts with multiple banks that are part of the same banking group (and share a banking licence) we have to treat them as one bank. This means that in the event of a firm failure, our £85,000 compensation limit applies to the total amount you hold across all these accounts, not to each separate account.

For our compensation limit to apply to each individual account, you’d need to hold money with different banks that don’t share a licence. You can search the Financial Services Register on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website to see which banks share a licence or check the lists of banking and building society brands on the Bank of England's website.

Joint accounts

Joint accounts are also eligible for FSCS protection up to the same limit of £85,000 per eligible person.

Please note, as above, if you have an individual account and a joint account within the same banking group, our £85,000 compensation limit will apply across these accounts, not to each separate account.

Temporary high balances

We also protect certain qualifying temporary high balances up to £1 million for six months from when the amount was first deposited.

You don’t need to do anything if your provider fails – FSCS will compensate you automatically.

You can easily see how much of your money is protected by using our bank & savings protection checker.

'FSCS Protected' badge

A quick and easy way of finding out whether a PRA-authorised bank, building society or credit union is protected by FSCS is by looking for the ‘FSCS Protected' badge.

Find out more about the badge

FSCS Payments Portal

Help and information

If your bank, building society or credit union has gone out of business and you’ve received an email from FSCS about your account inviting you to access the FSCS Payments Portal, you may be able to request your compensation payment via a direct bank transfer to an alternative UK account registered in your name, or by a cheque payment in the post.

If you haven’t received an email from us but you’re expecting a payment, you don’t need to do anything. It’s likely that your bank, building society or credit union didn’t hold a valid email address for you on its records. You don’t need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send your payment by cheque to the address registered on your account.

The FSCS Payments Portal is only available to customers of eligible banks, building societies or credit unions that have recently gone out of business. For more information about any other claim, visit our Making a claim page.

The FSCS Payments Portal will be accessible for a limited time. The email you received from us provides further information on how to access the portal.

If you have more questions, you may find our FSCS Payments Portal Help and information page useful.

How long will it take?

FSCS will pay compensation within seven working days of a bank, building society or credit union failing. You don't need to do anything, FSCS will compensate you automatically. More complex cases, including temporary high balance claims, will take longer and you'll need to contact us to request an application form.

I've got a small business account and a personal account with the same bank. Are both accounts covered up to £85,000?

If your business is a separate legal entity, e.g., a limited company or LLP, you could claim up to £85,000 for each account. If you’re a sole trader (e.g., Mr Smith trading as Smith Motors) you wouldn’t be entitled to two separate claims – you could claim up to £85,000 in total.

Although joint account holders are usually entitled to make separate deposit claims for £85,000 each, if the joint account holders hold the account as partners in a business, then the business partnership is only entitled to a single claim of £85,000 (not one claim per business partner).

See our small businesses & limited companies page for more information.

Visit our charities page for information about FSCS protection for deposits made by charities.

Are deposits covered if they're held in a client account or by a nominee company?

Generally yes, but see our answer on whether we cover deposits held in client accounts for limits and requirements.

I used a savings marketplace/cash platform

Savings marketplace, cash platform, savings service – this type of financial company (also known as a deposits aggregator) spreads your money across multiple accounts with different banks. See this article for more details.

Payment terms

Find the terms of payment and consent to FSCS use of your personal data in our Terms and Conditions section.