*Stock trading, countries: UK only.

Disclaimer: the protections mentioned in this article do not cover investment performance. It’s important to always remember that markets may go up or down, so you should never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Trusting us with your investments is not something we take for granted. Any funds that you deposit into your Shares account are kept in a secure account called an E-money account. This E-money account is safeguarded by our partner Modulr, an authorised E-money Institution (EMI). This means that if we or Modulr were ever to become insolvent (i.e. bankrupt), funds that you have deposited with Modulr are protected against the claims made by any creditor.

How is an E-money Institution (EMI) different from a bank?

The main difference between an EMI and a bank is that banks lend out clients’ money, whereas EMIs are prohibited from lending money.

Banks take deposits from customers to lend money out and make money on the difference, whereas an EMI holds 100% of clients’  funds at all times and makes its money on the volume of payments and accounts. 

How are my funds kept safe?

Any funds that you deposit into your Shares account are kept in a secure E-money account, which are kept safe using something called safeguarding.

Safeguarding means that our partner Modulr ensures the funds they receive from clients are segregated from all other funds that they hold and they can’t be used for any other purposes.

Whilst Electronic Money products are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), your funds will be held in one or more segregated accounts and safeguarded in line with the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. For more information please see “How Modulr keeps funds safe”.

Do UK users benefit from Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection?

Because Modulr is an EMI, not a bank, they don’t put clients’ money at risk by lending it out. Therefore protection schemes like the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which offers consumer protection up to £85,000 (or £170,000 for a joint account) in the event of a bank failure, do not apply to their business model.

Am I covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protection in the US?

Your US securities are held with our partner Alpaca, who is FINRA regulated and a registered member of the SIPC. This means your US securities are protected up to the value of $500,000 should Alpaca fail. You can read more about this directly on the SIPC website.