Two banking brands do not necessarily mean two separate FSCS protection limits. If you hold savings with different UK banking brands, check whether they operate under the same authorised firm before assuming your money is independently protected. Since 1 December 2025, the standard Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) deposit limit has been £120,000 per eligible person, per authorised bank, building society or credit union.
That limit generally applies to your combined eligible deposits with the authorised institution, even when it operates several brands with different names, websites and banking apps.
The three rules worth remembering
✓ One person + one authorised deposit-taking firm = up to £120,000 of standard deposit protection.
✓ Different brands sharing that authorisation normally share the same limit.
✓ Different authorised deposit-taking firms can provide separate limits, even when they belong to the same corporate group.
This guide explains how to identify the institution behind a banking brand, check the relevant authorisation, calculate your potential exposure and decide whether to move any savings. It applies to eligible UK deposits, not every financial product sold through a banking app.
1. How shared banking licences affect FSCS protection
The key distinction is between a banking brand and an authorised deposit-taking institution.
A brand is the name customers recognise. The authorised institution is the legal entity responsible for the deposit and its regulatory permissions. One institution can operate several brands, and those brands may all draw on the same FSCS deposit protection limit.
According to the FSCS explanation of shared banking licences, this means deposits held across brands sharing one licence are treated together for the purposes of standard compensation.
Example: HSBC and first direct
FSCS identifies HSBC and first direct as brands sharing a banking authorisation.
Suppose an individual has £90,000 in an eligible HSBC savings account and £50,000 in an eligible first direct account.
The combined balance is £140,000. Although the customer uses two brands, the standard deposit protection limit is £120,000 across both, leaving £20,000 above the ordinary limit.
The separate brand names have not created a second £120,000 allowance.
But one banking group does not always mean one licence
Corporate ownership can create the opposite source of confusion.
Different banks within the same parent group may be separately authorised deposit-taking institutions, meaning eligible deposits can have separate protection limits.
For example, Bank of Scotland's own FSCS information states that deposits held with Bank of Scotland plc, which includes Halifax, remain protected separately from deposits held with Lloyds Bank plc.
That distinction matters particularly when banking brands are renamed or services are combined. A familiar logo does not establish which authorised institution holds the money.
The practical lesson: do not use the number of brands or the name of the parent company as your final test. Identify the actual deposit-taking firm.
2. How to check whether two banking brands share a licence
You can carry out a useful first check in a few minutes. The objective is to assign every account to its actual authorised deposit-taking institution.
Step 1: List every eligible deposit account
Start with all the accounts you hold, including:
- Current accounts with credit balances.
- Easy-access savings accounts.
- Fixed-term savings deposits.
- Cash ISAs.
- Joint savings and current accounts.
- Deposits arranged through a savings marketplace or cash platform.
Record the current balance, account ownership and the advertised banking brand. Do not assume cash ISAs have their own FSCS allowance merely because they have a separate tax status.
Step 2: Find the legal deposit-taking institution
Check your account terms, deposit protection information sheet, statements or the bank's FSCS disclosure.
Look for wording identifying the bank or building society that legally accepts your deposit. Also look for its Firm Reference Number (FRN) or regulatory authorisation details.
The bank's customer-facing name may differ from the legal institution's name.
Step 3: Use the official FSCS protection checker
Open the FSCS bank and savings protection checker.
Enter your banking providers and relevant balances. The checker is designed to help identify shared banking authorisations and calculate how much of your eligible deposits may be protected.
It uses information associated with the Financial Conduct Authority's Financial Services Register, including firms linked under the same FRN.
The checker is a screening tool rather than a binding promise of compensation. FSCS advises customers to confirm information with the deposit provider and the official register.
Step 4: Cross-check the FCA Financial Services Register
Visit the FCA Financial Services Register and search for the institution or its FRN.
Check:
- The legal name of the authorised firm.
- Whether it has the relevant permission to accept deposits.
- Its FRN and current regulatory status.
- Any trading names associated with the firm.
- Whether your other banking brand belongs to that same authorised firm or a genuinely separate deposit taker.
Where two brands are trading names of the same authorised deposit-taking firm, their eligible deposits normally belong in one protection calculation.
Where the institutions are separately authorised, their limits may be separate. Confirm the arrangement rather than relying on a parent-group name.
Step 5: Group balances by institution and person
Put accounts held under the same authorisation together, then calculate each eligible person's total balance with that institution.
For an individual account holder under the standard rules:
Ordinary protected amount
The lower of £120,000 and the person's total eligible deposits with the authorised firm.
Amount above the ordinary limit
Total eligible deposits with that firm minus £120,000, or zero if the result is negative.
Include relevant balances across every brand of that firm. Consider whether interest credited before a potential failure could push your deposits over the limit.
This calculation addresses standard protection. Qualifying temporary high balances and other special circumstances may require a different assessment.
3. Worked example: £140,000 across two brands
Consider this illustrative scenario. The figures are hypothetical balances, not actual customer deposits or quoted savings rates.
One person holds the following eligible deposits with two brands operating under the same authorised institution:
| Account | Balance | Authorisation |
|---|---|---|
| Brand A savings | £90,000 | Firm X |
| Brand B savings | £50,000 | Firm X |
| Total | £140,000 | One institution |
Assuming one eligible depositor, no other deposits with the institution and no qualifying temporary high balance:
- Combined eligible deposits: £140,000.
- Ordinary FSCS limit: £120,000.
- Amount within the ordinary limit: £120,000.
- Amount above the ordinary limit: £20,000.
£20,000 above the standard limit does not mean £20,000 will automatically be lost. It means that amount would not be covered by the ordinary deposit compensation ceiling if the institution failed. Recoveries outside FSCS compensation are uncertain.
What changes if £25,000 moves to another bank?
Suppose the depositor transfers £25,000 to a different PRA-authorised deposit-taking institution that does not share Firm X's authorisation.
The original firm would then hold £115,000, and the new firm £25,000.
With no other deposits at either institution, both balances would fall within their respective standard limits, assuming eligibility.
The £5,000 difference below the original institution's £120,000 ceiling also provides some room for additional interest, although it is not a universal recommendation for how large a buffer to maintain.
The depositor should still compare interest rates, account access, transfer limits and any fixed-term withdrawal restrictions before moving money.
4. Joint accounts: separate people, shared authorisation
Joint accounts introduce an additional layer because FSCS protection applies to eligible people, not simply to account numbers.
As explained by the Bank of England's FSCS guidance, each eligible joint account holder can receive up to £120,000 of standard deposit protection with an authorised institution.
A qualifying joint account with two owners can therefore have up to £240,000 in standard protection where neither owner has other deposits counted against the same institution's limit.
However, personal accounts held by the same people with that institution must also be considered.
Illustrative joint-account calculation
Assume two people own a joint savings account equally, and both are eligible depositors:
- Joint account: £180,000.
- Person A's assumed half: £90,000.
- Person B's assumed half: £90,000.
- Person A also holds an individual cash ISA of £45,000 with the same authorised firm.
- Person B has no other deposits with that firm.
Person A's total attributable deposits are £135,000, leaving £15,000 above that person's ordinary £120,000 limit.
Person B's £90,000 share remains within the ordinary limit.
On those assumptions, £210,000 of the household's £225,000 total would be within the combined ordinary limits, leaving £15,000 above them.
This illustration assumes equal ownership of the joint balance. Actual ownership and entitlement may require closer examination.
Decision rule: assess each person's share of joint deposits together with that person's individual deposits held under the same authorisation.
5. A banking licence map for your savings
A simple institution-level ledger helps expose duplicated protection assumptions before you transfer money.
Use one row for each authorised deposit-taking firm, not one row for every banking app or brand.
| Firm / FRN | Accounts | Total per person | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm X | Brands A + B | £140,000 | £20,000 over |
| Firm Y | Brand C | £70,000 | Within limit |
Illustrative ledger only. Firms X and Y are fictional institutions with assumed separate authorisations; all amounts represent one person's eligible deposits and exclude any special protection.
For your own ledger, replace the fictional names with the legal institution names and verified FRNs, and record when you last checked them.
A useful status system has three outcomes:
- Within standard limit: the person's aggregate eligible balance with the institution does not exceed £120,000.
- Above standard limit: the aggregate exceeds £120,000 and additional protection has not been established.
- Needs verification: the institution, account ownership, regulatory authorisation or protection eligibility is unclear.
Do not label an account fully protected merely because you cannot find evidence that two brands share an authorisation.
6. Four situations that can change the answer
A. Temporary high balances after major life events
Some large deposits may qualify for protection beyond the standard ceiling.
FSCS provides temporary high balance protection of up to £1.4 million in most qualifying cases, for six months.
Qualifying circumstances can include proceeds from selling a main home, an inheritance, certain compensation payments or redundancy-related payments.
The six-month period depends on when the funds become legally transferable to the depositor or are first credited. Moving the money does not restart that period.
Qualification is not automatic for every large transfer. FSCS may require evidence and generally determines entitlement following a firm failure.
If your balance is temporarily high, retain relevant legal, transaction and bank records. Do not assume all excess savings qualify simply because the deposit is recent.
B. Savings marketplaces and cash platforms
A savings platform may place customers' funds with one or more underlying banks.
FSCS protection may apply to eligible deposits at those banks, but the platform itself is not necessarily the authorised deposit taker.
Before using such a service, identify:
- Which bank or building society legally holds the deposit.
- Whether the arrangement qualifies for FSCS deposit protection.
- Whether the underlying bank shares an authorisation with another institution where you already save.
- How account ownership and beneficial entitlement are recorded.
Do not treat each savings product appearing on a marketplace as a separate £120,000 allowance without checking the underlying institution.
C. E-money and payment accounts
An electronic money provider may offer a familiar app, payment card and account-style features without being a PRA-authorised bank.
Authorised electronic money and payment institutions generally use safeguarding arrangements instead. Safeguarding has different legal rules and failure procedures and should not be described as equivalent to the £120,000 deposit guarantee.
Check the legal entity and its regulatory permissions, not merely whether the app advertises that it is regulated.
D. Sole traders and limited companies
Eligible deposits held by a company that is legally separate from its owner may have their own protection entitlement.
A sole trader, however, is not ordinarily a separate legal person from the individual. Personal and sole-trader deposits held with the same authorised institution are generally aggregated for the individual's limit.
For a company, verify its separate legal identity and eligibility rather than assuming every business account receives an additional allowance. The FSCS guidance on bank deposits explains these distinctions.
7. Should you move money to another banking brand?
The right response depends on the amount genuinely above the ordinary limit, your eligibility for additional protection and the costs of changing accounts.
If your combined balance is below £120,000
You do not need to open another account solely to create an additional FSCS limit if your eligible deposits already sit within the existing limit.
It may still be useful to maintain separate accounts for accessibility, service continuity or interest-rate comparisons, but these are different objectives.
If your combined balance exceeds £120,000
Consider transferring some money to a genuinely separate authorised deposit-taking institution.
Compare the practical trade-offs:
- The recipient institution's independent authorisation and deposit eligibility.
- The interest rate or annual equivalent rate (AER).
- Easy-access versus fixed-term conditions.
- Early withdrawal penalties or restrictions.
- Cash ISA transfer rules, if applicable.
- How quickly you may need the money.
- Future interest that could increase balances beyond a limit.
Moving £20,000 from one savings account to another brand under the same banking authorisation does not solve the shared-limit problem.
Moving it to a different eligible institution can improve standard protection, provided the receiving institution's own limit is not already exhausted.
If you are relying on a temporary high balance exception
Check the precise qualification criteria and dates before acting. Keep evidence showing the origin and ownership of the money.
Temporary high balance protection may be valuable, but it should not be treated as an indefinite substitute for reviewing where large deposits are held.
8. Common mistakes when checking FSCS protection
Mistake 1: Counting banking apps instead of authorised firms. Different apps and logos can operate under one banking authorisation.
Mistake 2: Assuming every member of a banking group shares protection. Some groups operate distinct authorised banks with separate limits. Verify the legal deposit taker.
Mistake 3: Giving cash ISAs their own separate allowance. Eligible cash ISA deposits generally count towards the same person's standard limit with the same authorised institution.
Mistake 4: Ignoring personal savings when assessing a joint account. A person's share of joint deposits must be considered alongside that person's other relevant deposits.
Mistake 5: Treating an FCA registration as proof of FSCS deposit cover. Firms may be regulated for activities other than deposit-taking, and non-bank payment balances have different protections.
Mistake 6: Relying on an old banking-brand relationship. Mergers, acquisitions and transfers can change the institution behind an account. Recheck current disclosures after significant changes.
9. Your final five-minute protection check
Before deciding that your savings are fully protected, make sure you can answer five questions:
- What is the full legal name of the institution holding each deposit?
- Have I confirmed its deposit-taking authorisation and relevant FRN?
- Do any of my accounts share the same authorised institution despite having different brand names?
- Have I added up all eligible deposits attributable to each person, including relevant joint-account shares?
- If the total exceeds £120,000, have I verified an applicable exception or considered a separate authorised institution?
Keep a record of the checks, preferably alongside the bank's current deposit protection information sheet.
For a final independent review, use the official FSCS protection checker and verify the institution through the FCA Financial Services Register.
Bottom line: FSCS protection follows the eligible depositor and the authorised deposit-taking institution, not the number of brand names on your banking statements. Check the shared licence first. Only then can you judge whether opening another savings account actually diversifies your deposit protection.
Educational information: This article concerns UK FSCS deposit protection and reflects the £120,000 standard limit effective from 1 December 2025. It is not personalised financial or legal advice. Eligibility, account ownership, product structure and the circumstances of a firm failure may affect compensation. FSCS determines claims under the applicable rules.
