FSCS limits are changing

What is FSCS? 

FSCS is the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. In a nutshell, it’s like an industry-wide insurance scheme that protects customers eligible deposits in the rare event of a bank or building society becoming insolvent. 

What’s Changing? 

For a number of years, the FSCS limit had remained unchanged at £85,000. From 1 December 2025, that limit has increased, meaning that the first £120,000 of eligible deposits, per customer, per UK bank, are now protected. 

What does that mean for me? 

It means that if you hold a large sum of money with Alpha Bank London, or indeed any other bank, the first £120,000 of eligible deposits are now protected, and guaranteed to be returned to you in the event that something happens to your bank. 

What do I need to do? 

There’s nothing you need to do – the additional protection applies automatically.  

Naturally though, this may be a good prompt to review your finances – it could, for example, create an opportunity for you to move your funds around to take maximum advantage of the enhanced FSCS scheme, or to rationalise your savings across fewer banks, whilst still retaining complete FSCS protection. 

Is there anything else I need to know? 

The FSCS rules have a few features that it’s worth being aware of;- 

1. Protection applies per-person. This means that, for example, if you and a partner hold money in a joint account you could be covered up to two times the limit (so, £240,000) – though remember that if you also have other bank accounts with the same bank, each individual’s other balances will also count towards their share of the limit. 

2. Protection applies per bank license.  This means that if two bank brands share a banking license (e.g. HSBC and First Direct) then you only get one lot of protection combined across the two banks. Alpha Bank London does not share a license with any other UK banks, and is separately licensed from Alpha Bank in Greece, meaning that customers benefit from the full £120k FSCS protection in the UK, separately from any Deposit protection scheme on balances held in Greece or Cyprus, via TEKE or DGS respectively, which each (at the time of writing) give €100,000 protection. 

3. Investments are separately guaranteed. At the time of writing, the FSCS protection for investments continues to be limited to £85,000. This is separate and additive to the scheme covering your cash balances in the bank 

4. Temporary high balances. The FSCS additionally covers for temporary high balances which meet certain qualifying criteria, such as sale of your primary home, or inheritances (see the FSCS website for the full list) – such balances are covered for up to £1,400,000 (one million, four hundred thousand pounds) for 6 months after receipt of funds.