Who is covered?

The FSCS protects eligible deposits belonging to individual human beings and most (but not all) companies. Specifically, deposits belonging to financial institutions and investment firms are not protected by the FSCS.

For more detail, see Chapter 2 on depositor protection in the PRA Rulebook.

How much is covered?

If Griffin fails, the FSCS will pay compensation up to £85,000 of whatever eligible deposits you hold with us. The following conditions apply:

• FSCS protection is per depositor, as opposed to per account. This means if you have multiple accounts with Griffin, the £85,000 limit applies to the total amount held across all those accounts.
• Qualifying temporary high balances may be covered up to £1 million for up to six months from when the amount was first deposited. Temporary high balances can include things like proceeds from property sales, insurance claims, and inheritance. There is no limit on compensation payable for a temporary high balance in connection with personal injury or incapacity.

For more detail, see Chapter 4 on depositor protection in the PRA Rulebook.

When is deposit protection triggered?

Deposit protection is triggered if Griffin fails, which means that the FSCS has determined that the deposits we hold are unavailable.

The FSCS aims to pay compensation in full within seven days of a bank failing (though this can take longer in complex cases).

For bank failures, compensation is usually paid out automatically‍—‌you don’t need to submit a claim. That said, if you think you are entitled to compensation and you haven’t received or heard anything after seven days, you should contact the FSCS as soon as possible.

For more detail, see the FSCS website.

How does deposit protection work for safeguarded funds?

Electronic money institutions (EMIs), authorised payment institutions and small payment institutions (PIs) must safeguard the funds they receive from their customers, usually by holding them in a segregated account with a bank such as Griffin. Deposit protection is not available when an EMI/PI fails, but it is available to eligible customers of an EMI/PI if the bank holding the safeguarded funds fails.

So if you are safeguarding your customers’ funds with Griffin, each of your customers (both individuals and businesses) are protected as if they were holding their funds with Griffin directly. The conditions and limits set out above also apply to safeguarded customer funds.

In the case of a bank failure, the FSCS may pay compensation into a different safeguarding account held by the EMI/PI, or directly to the end customer.

For more detail, see Chapter 6 on depositor protection in the PRA Rulebook.

More information

Visit the FSCS website or contact them directly via email, phone, post, or live chat via their contact page.

If you want to talk to us directly about deposit protection, drop us a line at support@griffin.com