Is Wise FSCS protected? Where your money is actually held
No. Wise is not a bank and a Wise account balance is e-money, which its terms state "is not insured by any deposit protection scheme, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)". Instead Wise must safeguard customer money, holding it in cash at banks such as Barclays Bank PLC and JPMorgan Chase, in government bonds and money-market funds, and partly through insurer guarantees. Money switched to Interest or Stocks becomes fund units, covered by the FSCS investment scheme up to £85,000 only if Wise's investment firm fails.
Wise is an FCA-authorised electronic money institution, not a bank: customers contract with Wise Payments Limited (FCA firm reference 900507). Every statement below is taken from the source named beneath it, last checked 22 October 2026. It is information, not advice.
Who holds the money, product by product
| Product | Held by | Protection | Holder's credit rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wise account balance (e-money) | Safeguarded by Wise: cash at Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Deutsche Bank AG London, Hamburg Commercial Bank and Bank of America, plus government bonds and insurer guarantees | e-money safeguarded by the firm, not FSCS deposit protection | n/a |
| Interest (sterling) | BlackRock ICS Sterling Government Liquidity Fund (BlackRock Asset Management Ireland) | units in a fund, an investment rather than a deposit | n/a |
| Stocks | iShares World Equity Index Fund (LU), managed by BlackRock (Luxembourg) | units in a fund, an investment rather than a deposit | n/a |
Who Wise is
UK customers contract with Wise Payments Limited (company 07209813), an electronic money institution authorised by the FCA with firm reference 900507. Interest and Stocks are provided by a second firm, Wise Assets UK Ltd (firm reference 839689), with fund units held by its nominee company. Wise has no UK banking licence; its 2026 annual report says it is evaluating whether to apply to the PRA for one.
Source: Wise customer agreement, Wise Payments Limited (UK personal), 7 Aug 2026Wise's parent became Wise Group plc, a Jersey company, on 8 May 2026, and its primary listing moved from London to Nasdaq on 11 May 2026, with a secondary listing kept in London. Wise's UK sort code and account number are not a bank account in the customer's name.
Source: Wise Group plc Form 20-F, year to 31 March 2026, 25 Jun 2026How each product is protected
Wise's terms say it keeps customer money separate from its own and safeguards it by holding it in Wise's name with financial institutions, as cash, as investments in secure assets such as government bonds, or through insurance guarantees. Part of UK customer money, £845 million at 31 March 2026, is covered by guarantees from nine insurers including Zurich, Allianz Trade and Chubb rather than being held separately.
Source: Wise Group plc Form 20-F, year to 31 March 2026, 31 Mar 2026Interest and Stocks are fund units held under the FCA's custody rules; Wise's agreement says they "are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) where Wise Assets cannot fulfil its obligations", up to £85,000. That does not cover a fall in a fund's value, and money on its way into or out of a fund is e-money, safeguarded but not FSCS-protected.
Source: Wise Assets customer agreement (Wise Assets UK Ltd), 16 Sep 2026If Wise or a partner bank fails
If Wise Payments Limited fails, the FSCS does not pay out on e-money; instead customers' claims are paid first from the pool of safeguarded funds, or from the insurance guarantees, ahead of other creditors except the cost of distributing the pool. Fund units held for Interest and Stocks sit with a separate nominee and cannot be used to pay Wise's debts.
Source: Wise: What happens in the case of an insolvency?, 22 Oct 2026If a bank holding safeguarded money fails, Wise says a significant share of customer funds is in government bonds or covered by guarantees, which a bank failure would not affect. Since PRA rules changed in 2023, the FSCS can protect eligible customers of e-money firms if a UK-authorised bank holding the safeguarded funds fails; several of Wise's named banks are non-UK banks, and which accounts qualify was not verified.
Source: Bank of England PRA PS2/23: Depositor protection, 31 Mar 2023Does it share your FSCS limit?
A Wise balance is not a bank deposit, so it does not count toward or share any bank's £120,000 FSCS deposit limit. Interest and Stocks holdings fall under the separate FSCS investment limit of £85,000 per person for Wise Assets UK.
Source: Wise customer agreement, Wise Payments Limited (UK personal), 7 Aug 2026Size
Wise had 18.9 million active customers worldwide in the year to 31 March 2026, and customer holdings of $41.2 billion at 30 June 2026, including $10.2 billion in Interest and Stocks; no UK-only customer figure is published. The group made a profit before tax of $660.4 million in the year to March 2026.
Source: Wise Group plc Q1 FY27 results, 16 July 2026, 30 Jun 2026Wise Payments Limited, the UK firm, owed £7.0 billion to customers at 31 March 2026, of which £4.6 billion was held as cash in segregated safeguarding bank accounts and term deposits, and made a profit before tax of £517.8 million in the year.
Source: Wise Payments Limited annual report, year to 31 March 2026 (Companies House), 31 Mar 2026Regulatory record since 2020
On 27 October 2024 the FCA fined Wise's chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, £350,000 personally for failing to tell the FCA about a tax penalty; it was not a fine on the firm. No FCA action against Wise Payments Limited or Wise Assets UK was found. Outside the UK, Wise entities have been fined by Abu Dhabi's regulator (2022), the US CFPB (2025) and six US state regulators (2025), and a Brussels money-laundering inquiry into Wise Europe was reported in June 2026 with no outcome.
Source: FCA Final Notice: Kristo Käärmann, 27 Oct 2024The fine print
Wise's terms state: "Wise is not a bank, and your Wise Account is not a bank account. Money you hold with Wise, in any currency, is not insured by any deposit protection scheme, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)." They also state that Wise owns any interest earned on the safeguarded money.
Source: Wise customer agreement, Wise Payments Limited (UK personal), 7 Aug 2026Wise Interest in sterling costs 0.55% a year (0.45% to Wise and 0.10% to the fund manager). Personal customers can move up to £100,000 a day out of Interest immediately; larger amounts take up to two working days.
Source: Wise: How Interest works in the United Kingdom, 3 Sep 2026Frequently asked questions
Is Wise FSCS protected?
No. Wise is not a bank and a Wise account balance is e-money, which its terms state "is not insured by any deposit protection scheme, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)". Instead Wise must safeguard customer money, holding it in cash at banks such as Barclays Bank PLC and JPMorgan Chase, in government bonds and money-market funds, and partly through insurer guarantees. Money switched to Interest or Stocks becomes fund units, covered by the FSCS investment scheme up to £85,000 only if Wise's investment firm fails.
Which bank holds my Wise money?
Wise does not place its customers' money as deposits with a bank. Wise account balance (e-money): Safeguarded by Wise: cash at Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Deutsche Bank AG London, Hamburg Commercial Bank and Bank of America, plus government bonds and insurer guarantees (e-money safeguarded by the firm, not FSCS deposit protection). Interest (sterling): BlackRock ICS Sterling Government Liquidity Fund (BlackRock Asset Management Ireland) (units in a fund, an investment rather than a deposit). Stocks: iShares World Equity Index Fund (LU), managed by BlackRock (Luxembourg) (units in a fund, an investment rather than a deposit).
What happens if Wise goes bust?
If Wise Payments Limited fails, the FSCS does not pay out on e-money; instead customers' claims are paid first from the pool of safeguarded funds, or from the insurance guarantees, ahead of other creditors except the cost of distributing the pool. Fund units held for Interest and Stocks sit with a separate nominee and cannot be used to pay Wise's debts.
Does Wise share the FSCS limit with my other savings?
A Wise balance is not a bank deposit, so it does not count toward or share any bank's £120,000 FSCS deposit limit. Interest and Stocks holdings fall under the separate FSCS investment limit of £85,000 per person for Wise Assets UK.
More: other savings apps and platforms, how FSCS protection works and which banks share a banking licence.