How do you protect my money?
We are committed to protecting your personal information and to the security of your funds.
To ensure your money is safe we follow a process known as ‘safeguarding’ which is a regulatory requirement for all Authorised Payment Institution (“APIs”). In this process, we keep your money separate from our own money and place it in a safeguarding account with Crown Agents Bank. We have to have an independent audit to check that we are meeting our safeguarding obligations every year and the auditor’s report confirming this is available to the FCA on request.
In the event of us going out of business, an insolvency practitioner would be appointed to return the funds we have safeguarded to our customers. This means you would get most of your money back, except for the costs deducted by the insolvency practitioner for distributing the money to our customers.
How does FSCS cover differ from safeguarding?
FSCS protects consumers together with small businesses, limited companies and charities (that meet its eligibility criteria) when certain authorised financial services firms (such as a UK authorised bank) fail and they cannot return your money to you. FSCS is a service funded by those financial service firms who are covered by it. FSCS provides compensation only up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union or up to £170,000 for joint accounts. This means if you have money in multiple accounts with banks, building societies or credit unions that are part of the same group (and share a banking licence) the FSCS treats them as one bank.
Whereas all the funds held in a payment account are safeguarded and the full value (minus administrative costs applied by the insolvency practitioner) will be returned to you in the event that we go out of business. Because of the insolvency procedure, it may take longer (as compared to an FSCS claim) for your money to be returned to you. You can find more information about using a non-bank payment service provider on the FCA’s website. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Are we regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)?
Foreign Currency Partners Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 to provide payment services and for compliance with the UK Anti Money Laundering regulations legislation and regulations.
As an authorised payments institution, we must hold the highest level of authorisation in the UK on making payments and comply with strict rules on how we conduct our business, treat our customers and secure and protect their funds and sensitive data.
Our FCA Firm Reference number is FRN941408 and you can find us and information about us on the FCA Register.
If you have any concerns about safety or security please call us immediately on 01442 804620 or speak to your account manager.
For clients who are non UK residents:
Payment services for Foreign Currency Partners Limited are provided by The Currency Cloud Limited. Registered in England No. 06323311. Registered Office:
Affiliate of CCBV
Payment services for Foreign Currency Partners Limited are provided by CurrencyCloud B.V.. Registered in the Netherlands No. 72186178. Registered Office: Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 296 – 298, Mindspace Nieuwezijds Office 001 Amsterdam. CurrencyCloud B.V. is authorised by the DNB under the Wet op het financieel toezicht to carry out the business of a electronic-money institution (Relation Number: R142701)
Affiliate of TCCI
Payment services for Foreign Currency Partners Limited are provided by The Currency Cloud Inc. which operates in partnership with Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB) to facilitate payments in all 50 states in the US. CFSB is registered with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC Certificate# 57129). The Currency Cloud Inc is registered with FinCEN and authorized in 39 states to transmit money (MSB Registration Number: 31000206794359). Registered Office: 104 5th Avenue, 20th Floor, New York , NY 10011.
When funds are posted to your account, e-money is issued in exchange for these funds, by an Electronic Money Institution who we work with, called Currencycloud. In line with regulatory requirements, Currencycloud safeguards your funds. This means that the money behind the balance you see in your account is held at a reputable bank, and most importantly, is protected for you in the event of Currencycloud’s, or our, insolvency. Currencycloud stops safeguarding your funds when the money has been paid out of your account to your beneficiary’s account.
CurrencyCloud does not offer forward contracts that exceed 1 year. To see our terms of use, please click here.
Handy hints for your own security:
Password
We’ll never ask you for your password. Never share it with anyone. If for any reason you believe your password is no longer secure, change it immediately. When choosing a password aim for a random mixture of at least 12 numbers, symbols, lower and upper case letters. Don’t use personal information or the same password you’ve used on other sites.
Computer, mobile and tablet security
Make sure your applications are kept up-to-date and that you have active anti-virus software. Try not to use public Wi-Fi networks and shield your screen from prying eyes if you log into secure sites while you’re in a public space. Never click on a link to our website from an email. Instead search for us using a web search, or type the address into the address bar yourself.
We do send useful information by email, but make sure you believe it’s definitely come from us before you click on any links. If you’re in any doubt, don’t click any links and let your account manager know straight away. Tell tales signs are that it doesn’t look or sound like our usual emails. The spelling and grammar are bad. You feel under pressure to do something. There are unusual attachments. If in doubt, check.
Phone calls and text
Phone, text and even social media fraud is increasingly sophisticated. Any call that makes you feel pressurised into taking immediate action needs to be questioned. Check the caller’s number by doing a web search. Never give your password or security information or type numbers into your keypad. The same goes for texts. Don’t share passwords, security details or click a link. We don’t do this. Contact your account manager if you are in any doubt.
Transfer fraud
If you have any doubt about the recipient of your funds or the reason for making a transfer, don’t make the transaction. Remember the guidance:
- STOP: think before parting with your money or information.
- CHALLENGE: it’s OK to reject, refuse or ignore requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- PROTECT: contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve been scammed and report it to Action Fraud.
Visit Take Five to Stop Fraud for more advice.