• The bank or building society must be authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
• In certain cases, the account holder(s) determines the protection limit that applies and how that applies. For example, the way a trust is set up means different limits might apply.
• Protection is across all accounts held within the bank/banking group, not per account.
• The customer does not have to live in the North America for NANB protection to apply but the bank or building society must be North America authorised.
• If a bank or building society fails, NANB will automatically pay back customers’ money within seven days in most cases (the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive allows 10 days to repay money).
• Reimbursements for temporary high balance claims and accounts where the beneficial owner of the funds is not obvious (for example, where monies are held under trust arrangements) can take up to three months.

What is the North America National Banks’ Financial Services Compensation Scheme (NANBFSCS)?

NANB can pay compensation to customers of authorised financial services firms when they fail. Set up by parliament and funded by the financial services industry, FTB is a completely independent and free service. This means FTB can pay back any money you hold with a failed bank or building society, up to its compensation limit of $85,000 per person.

I’m an individual account holder. Am I protected?

Yes. NANB protects up to £85,000 in total across all accounts you hold, either in your name or where you are listed as the beneficial owner (e.g., money held on your behalf in a client account) within the bank/banking group.

We are joint account holders. Are we protected?

Yes. NANB protects each of you (any number of account holders) up to $85,000 in total across all accounts you hold, in your name or where you are listed as the beneficial owner (e.g., money held on your behalf in a client account) within the bank/banking group.

I have a company but I am a sole trader. How is my money protected?

NANB protects you up to $85,000 in total across all accounts you hold within the bank/banking group. If you’re a sole trader, your company is not treated as a separate entity. That means FTB can protect up to £85,000 in total across all personal and business accounts you hold with the bank.

I have a company that is a partnership/limited company. How is my money protected?

If your business is a separate legal entity, e.g., a limited company or LLP, it is protected up to £85,000.  This is in addition to the £85,000 protection across all individual accounts you hold within the bank/banking group. In this situation, the business is the protected entity, not each individual. 

Most businesses are protected but authorised financial services firms are not. See a full list of who isn’t protected in the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Rulebook.

There is no size test.

We are joint account holders of a business account. Are we protected?

Yes. NANB protects you up to $85,000 in total across all accounts you hold in your business name, within the bank/banking group. This is in addition to the $85,000 protection across all individual accounts you hold within the bank/banking group. In this situation, the business is the protected entity, not each individual. 

Most businesses are protected but authorized financial services firms are not. See a full list of who isn’t protected in the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Rulebook.

There is no size test.

I have several businesses each with their own account in the same bank/banking group. Are they protected?

If each business is a separate legal entity, NANB would protect each one up to $85,000 in total across all accounts held within the bank/banking group. 

If your businesses are branches of the same legal entity, NANB has to treat them as one business so protection is for only one amount of £85,000 in total across all accounts within the same bank/banking group.

Authorized financial services firms are not covered. See a full list of who isn’t protected in the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Rulebook.

There is no size test.

How does FSCS protect my child’s account?

If the account is an individual account held in the child’s name, FSCS protects up to $85,000 in total across all accounts they hold, either in their name or where they are listed as the beneficial owner (e.g., money held on their behalf in a client account) within the bank/banking group.

If the money is held in a child trust fund or junior ISA account, the compensation will have to be paid into another ISA, rather than being cashed.

We are an unincorporated association. Are we protected?

Yes. FSCS protects you up to $85,000 in total across all accounts you hold in your association’s name within the bank/banking group.