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 our trusted banking partners. 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 £120,000 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 an Authorised Payment Institution (“API”), licensed and supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA”) under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (“PSRs”) and in relation to the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering legislation.
As an API, FCP is required to uphold the highest standards of compliance with the FCA’s expectation and the Firm’s regulatory obligations. This includes meeting strict rules on how we conduct our business, treat our clients, and provide security over their funds and personal data.’
For clients serviced via Currency Cloud
When funds are posted to your account, in line with regulatory requirements, the regulated payment/e-money institutions who we work with safeguard your funds. This means that the funds shown in your payment account or e-wallet are held at reputable banks or covered by an insurance policy, and most importantly, are protected for you in the event of our partner payment/e-money/payment institutions’, or our, insolvency. Our partners stop safeguarding your funds when the money has been paid out of your account to your beneficiary’s account.
If you require a breakdown of the exact amounts of funds you have safeguarded at each of our e-money/payments partners at a particular point in time, please call us immediately on 01442 804620 or speak to your account manager.
For clients who are non UK residents:
For clients based in the European Economic Area, the issuance of e-money and the provision of related payment services for Foreign Currency Partners are provided by CurrencyCloud B.V. CurrencyCoud B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands under number 72186178. Registered office Mr. Treublaan 7, 1097 DP, Amsterdam, Netherlands. CurrencyCloud B.V. is licensed and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank as an Electronic Money Institution (Relation Number: R142701)”
For United States, Payment services for Foreign Currency Partners are provided by Visa Global Services Inc. (VGSI), a licensed money transmitter (NMLS ID 181032) in the states listed here. VGSI is licensed as a money transmitter by the New York Department of Financial Services. Mailing address: 900 Metro Center Blvd, Mailstop 1Z, Foster City, CA 94404. VGSI is also a registered Money Services Business (“MSB”) with FinCEN and a registered Foreign MSB with FINTRAC. For live customer support contact VGSI at (888) 733-0041.
Currency Cloud does not offer forward contracts that exceed 1 year. Currency Cloud’s Terms & Conditions are available, 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.