Fortnightly financial five minutes #4 Fiona Kidy

FSCS exists to protect customers of financial services firms that have failed. Can you tell us a bit about your role in the organisation

As Chief Financial Officer my role is to ensure the scheme is funded to pay compensation claims and to cover the costs of processing those claims.

FSCS recently published data and insights to support discussions on the future of financial services compensation in the UK. Could you share a few key points?

At FSCS we aim to support all our stakeholders – whether that is consumers, our customers, financial services firms, MPs or trade bodies. Our recent report The balancing act of compensation was part of our contribution to the discussion around the future of financial compensation in the UK. Every pound of compensation has a consumer story behind it. We hear some tough stories from many of our customers who have lost substantial amounts of money.

We have also started publishing some consumer research papers where we share insights from exclusive research on consumer trends, attitudes and behaviours towards financial products and the protection that FSCS provides.

Additionally, we continue to educate and empower consumers. We regularly run consumer awareness campaigns about our protection.

How will this increase in information sharing and transparency benefit consumers?

We want to increase awareness of our protection and give consumers guidance so they can make informed decisions. By contributing our data and insights we can further support better outcomes for consumers.

How does FSCS fit into the regulation of the market?

We don’t have regulatory or enforcement powers like some of our regulatory partners. Our role is to provide a trusted compensation service that helps to maintain public confidence in the industry. Embedded into the DNA of the organisation is the passion to do what we can to reduce instances of consumer harm.

What simple FSCS tools can consumers use to help protect themselves and their money?

We have developed a series of protection checkers on our website that people can use to check if the money in their bank, building society, credit union, pension or investment is FSCS protected. Empowering people to check their money is protected through these tools means they can quickly find out if they have that FSCS safety net in place, should their provider ever go out of business.

We also have the Protect your money with FSCS podcast series that aims to explain our protection in simple, friendly terms to give people the knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions.

Thanks very much Fiona for those insights.

For more information on what FSCS protects, see our What we cover page.

The content of any discussions shouldn't be taken as an indication of future FSCS policy positions. The views expressed by guests are their own and don't reflect the views of FSCS.