8 October 2026 Money

Money apps or a UK bank: is your money protected the same way?

Money in a UK bank is covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per bank. Money in an e-money account, such as Wise, is not: it is safeguarded instead, which is a different and weaker promise. Monzo and Starling require you to live in the UK. Check the FCA register to see which kind of firm holds your money.

A visitor usually cannot open a UK bank current account, for the reasons we set out in can a visitor open a UK bank account. So the apps step in, and they all look alike on a phone screen. Underneath, they are not all the same kind of company, and that decides what happens to your money if the company fails.

Two kinds of firm

A bank takes deposits and is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. An electronic-money institution, or EMI, issues e-money and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Both can give you a card, an account number and an app. Only one of them holds a deposit.

If it is a bank: FSCS protection

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects deposits up to £120,000 per person, per authorised bank. That limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025. If a bank fails, the FSCS normally pays out within seven days.

"Per bank" is per banking licence, not per brand. Two brands that share one licence share one limit.

If it is e-money: safeguarding, not FSCS

The FSCS says plainly that it cannot protect money held with e-money institutions and payment providers. What protects you instead is safeguarding: the firm must keep customers' money separate from its own, either in a dedicated account at a bank or covered by an insurance policy.

Safeguarding is a real protection, but it is not a guarantee. If an e-money firm fails, an administrator returns what was safeguarded, and the FCA warns that some costs can be taken out of it first. Your money can also be tied up for some time. The FCA found that payment firms which failed between 2018 and 2023 had average shortfalls of 65% of their customers' funds.

Stricter safeguarding rules came into force on 7 May 2026, with daily checks, monthly reporting and annual audits. The FCA expects them to make full refunds more likely and quicker. They still do not turn e-money into an FSCS-protected deposit.

Revolut: check which company holds your account

Revolut now has a UK bank. Revolut Bank UK Ltd appears on the Bank of England's list of authorised banks. But the older e-money company, Revolut Ltd, is still on the FCA register too. Only money held by the bank is covered by the FSCS, so check which of the two your account is with. Revolut's terms and the app's account details say which.

Which of these will open an account for a visitor?

Fewer than people assume. Monzo requires you to live in the UK full time with the right to reside, and says it cannot offer an account without a UK address. Starling also requires you to live in the UK. The legal right to a fee-free basic bank account applies only to people who are legally resident in the UK.

For a short visit, you rarely need any of them. Your own contactless card works on the Tube and in shops at the same prices as a British card. The real cost is your home bank's foreign-transaction fee, which is worth checking before you fly.

How to check any firm in two minutes

• Find the firm's legal company name. It is usually at the bottom of its website or in its terms and conditions, and it may differ from the brand.
• Search that name on the FCA's Financial Services Register. The FCA says the register will tell you whether it is a bank or a non-bank payment provider.
• If it is not on the register at all, do not send it money.

If you are carrying a large sum in cash rather than moving it through an app, a different rule applies at the border: see bringing cash into the UK.

Checked against the official sources below on 8 October 2026.

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