In the spring, a surge was reported in the number of people enquiring about and opening savings accounts, as they sought to secure the best rates, before interest rate cuts fed through to savings rates and to benefit from a secure home for their money.
For UK savers, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can provide a safeguard adding a valuable level of reassurance. If you have any money in an account with a UK authorised bank, building society or credit union that fails, the FSCS will compensate you:
- up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union
- up to £170,000 for joint accounts.
You do not need to take any action, the FSCS will automatically compensate you.
Attention to detail
The cover applies to the total sum of money held but because some banks share a banking licence, this will affect how much of your money is protected. If you hold over £85,000, it needs to be spread across different banks that don't share a licence to benefit from full FSCS protection. If you hold multiple accounts with banks that share the same banking licence, anything you hold over £85,000 will not be protected.
To find out more, visit the FSCS Website.
Please note, the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.