Is my money FSCS protected?
NuWealth, formerly known as Wombat Invest, and our carefully selected partners, are regulated and authorised in the UK by the FCA, which means money you deposit into our accounts is either covered by the FSCS up to a limit of £85,000 per person, per banking group, or safeguarded under the FCA’s Electronic Money Regulations.
Please be aware that this does not cover any decline in the value of your investments. You can find more information about FSCS protection here.
FSCS does not cover FCA regulated e-money licensed companies such as Bondsmith. Funds received in exchange for electronic money will be safeguarded (i.e., protected) in accordance with the FCA’s electronic money rules. Protected Money is not covered under the FSCS but would be reclaimable under the FCA’s Safeguarding rules. More information on e-money rules can be found here.
Investment Accounts
Investment accounts with NuWealth, formerly known as Wombat Invest, are covered by the government’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to a limit of £85,000 per person, per banking group. Please be aware that this does not cover any decline in the value of your investments. Read more information on FSCS here.
Funds in our Standard GIA, ISA & JISA accounts are held with Seccl Custody Limited. Seccl is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under Firm Reference Number 793200. You can read more about them here.
Savings Accounts
For all our savings accounts, we are partnered with Bondsmith, our payment facilitator, and GB Bank, our partner bank that is fully FSCS protected: https://gbbank.co.uk/ Their FSCS policy is listed here: https://gbbank.co.uk/fscs-protection/
Bondsmith is an electronic money institution (EMI) that facilitates the transactions between you, our client, and GB Bank, who holds your money on our behalf. As Bondsmith is an FCA approved EMI, all monies are held in a separate safeguarding bank account with HSBC and then transferred to GB Bank no later than the end of the next banking day, at which point the FSCS deposit guarantee cover applies. EMIs cannot be FSCS protected as they are not banks, however, funds will be safeguarded (i.e., protected) in accordance with the FCA’s e-money rules. Protected Money is not covered under the FSCS but would be reclaimable in the event of insolvency under the FCA’s Electronic Money Regulations(EMR). More information on e-money rules can be found here.
When you make a deposit to your NuWealth saving’s account, this is your deposit’s journey:Your bank (FSCS protected) -> Bondsmith’s e-wallet (FCA EMR protected) -> Bondsmith’s HSBC holding account (FSCS protected) -> Your NuWealth savings account under GB Bank (FSCS protected)
While your money is in GB Bank, it is held by Bondsmith Savings Nominees Ltd as trustee and protected by the FSCS up to £85,000, if you are eligible. Read more about the FSCS and their eligibility rules here
While your funds are in transit to and from GB Bank, they are briefly held by Bondsmith Savings Ltd as electronic money. Electronic money is safeguarded but not FSCS protected. Read more about safeguarding and how electronic money is protected here