FSCS Payments Portal – help and information

You’ve received an email from FSCS inviting you to the FSCS Payments Portal because your bank, building society or credit union has gone out of business. FSCS may be able to pay you via a direct bank transfer or by a cheque in the post, up to our compensation limit.  

The FSCS Payments Portal offers a safe and easy way to request your compensation payment via a direct bank transfer to another UK account registered in your name or jointly in your name. You can also choose to receive your payment by a cheque in the post. It’s a free service and by using the portal, you may receive a faster payment. 

FSCS will contact you via email if your bank, building society or credit union held a valid email address for you before going out of business. The email you receive will provide details on how to access the FSCS Payments Portal. If we don't have a valid email address for you, you don't need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send your payment by cheque to the postal address that was registered on your bank, building society or credit union account within seven working days.

FSCS will contact you via email if your bank, building society or credit union held a valid email address for you before going out of business. The email you receive will provide details on how to access the FSCS Payments Portal.

Follow the link to the FSCS Payments Portal provided in the email or visit https://payments.fscs.org.uk/ and enter your personal access details when prompted.  

The FSCS Payments Portal will be accessible for a limited time. You must log in to the portal and provide your personal access details before the date given in the email to receive your payment by bank transfer or to choose the cheque payment option. 

If you’re not able to log in or complete your payment request before the portal closing time, you don’t need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send a cheque for your payment in the post within seven working days.

If you don’t want to use the portal, there’s nothing you need to do and you don’t need to get in touch with us.

We’ll automatically make your payment by cheque within seven working days. The cheque will be sent to the postal address that was registered on your account with the bank, building society or credit union that has gone out of business.

If you haven’t received an email from FSCS but you’re expecting a payment because your bank, building society or credit union has gone out of business, this is likely because your bank, building society or credit union didn't hold a valid email address for you on its records. Check your spam or junk folder in case the email from FSCS has accidentally ended up in there.

You don’t need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send a cheque for your payment to the postal address registered on your account. 

FSCS will contact you via email if your bank, building society or credit union has gone out of business, and they held a valid email address for you on their records.

The message will be sent from an email address that ends with @payments.fscs.org.uk. Please disregard any emails about the FSCS Payments Portal sent from any other email address as they may be fraudulent.

FSCS will never send you an email asking you to send us personal data, passcodes or PIN codes. FSCS is a free service and we’ll never ask you for money to access compensation payments. If you receive an email like this claiming to be from FSCS, you shouldn’t reply or follow any links it contains – just forward the email to enquiries@fscs.org.uk and then delete it.

FSCS protects money held in UK banks, building societies and credit unions up to £85,000 per person, per bank or building society.

Additional temporary high balances may also be covered by FSCS in certain circumstances which you’ll need to claim for separately.

FSCS protects money held in UK banks, building societies and credit unions up to our compensation limit of £85,000 per person, per bank, building society or credit union. Additional temporary high balances may also be covered by FSCS in certain circumstances which you’ll need to claim for separately.

For more information about our compensation limits, please visit our Banks, building societies and credit unions page.

Bank transfer payments may take between two to five working days.

You don’t need to use the FSCS Payments Portal, or to contact us, if you’d prefer to receive your payment by cheque in the post. FSCS will automatically send you a cheque to the postal address registered on your account within seven working days. However, if you do log in to the FSCS Payments Portal and confirm that you wish to be paid this way, you may receive your cheque payment faster.

You can log on to the FSCS Payments Portal and complete this process on any device. For security reasons and to protect your personal data, we recommend using a personal device with a private and secure connection.

The FSCS Payments Portal will be accessible for a limited time which can’t be extended. To receive your payment by bank transfer, you must log in to the portal and provide your personal account details before the date given in the email from FSCS. 

If you’re not able to log in by this date, you don’t need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send a cheque for your payment in the post within seven working days.

If you’re not able to use the link to access the FSCS Payments Portal, please rest assured that FSCS will send you a cheque in the post to the address registered on your account within seven working days.

We’re sorry that you’re experiencing difficulties with the FSCS Payments Portal. If you can’t access the portal, FSCS will send you a cheque in the post for the amount you’re due. The cheque will be sent to the address the bank, building society or credit union held on their file within seven working days.

For security reasons, you’ll need to verify your identity before you can submit your payment request on the FSCS Payments Portal. A list of information you’ll need is provided in the email you received from FSCS.

You’ll have a limited number of opportunities to enter your personal verification details before your bank transfer or cheque payment request can be submitted. If we’re not able to verify your details, you don’t need to contact us. FSCS will automatically send a cheque for your payment to the postal address registered on your account within seven working days.

FSCS can only transfer your payment to a bank, building society or credit union account registered in the UK. The account must be registered in your name. It can be a joint account if you’re one of the registered account holders.

If you don’t have an alternative UK bank, building society or credit union account, you don’t need to do anything. If you’ve started a bank transfer request on the FSCS Payments Portal, you can safely exit the page by closing your browser. You don’t need to contact us as we will automatically send your payment by cheque. We’ll send this to the postal address that was registered on your bank, building society or credit union account within seven working days.

If you’d like to set up a new account with a UK bank or building society, information on how to do this is available on the Citizens Advice website.

If you wish to open an account with another credit union, you can find information on the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) website or the ACE Credit Union Services website.

If you’re based in Scotland, you can get information about credit unions by checking the website of the Scottish League of Credit Unions.

FSCS can transfer your payment to a joint account so long as you’re one of the registered account holders.

If you held a deposit in a joint account and the other deposit holder has passed away, the standard compensation limit can be temporarily increased for you if certain criteria are met. For more information, please visit our Temporary high balances page.

As we may need you to provide evidence, please get in touch with us via our Contact us page.

If you request payment through the FSCS Payments Portal, we’ll only be able to pay up to our compensation limit per person. This could be less than the total amount of money you held with the bank, building society or credit union. For more information about our compensation limits, please visit our Banks, building societies and credit unions page.

You won’t be able to use an international account as an alternative account to transfer your compensation payment into.

FSCS can only transfer your payment to a bank, building society or credit union account registered in the UK.  The account must be in your name. It can be a joint account if you’re one of the registered account holders.  

If you don’t have an alternative UK bank, building society or credit union account, you don’t need to do anything. If you’ve logged in and realised that you don’t have a suitable account to receive your compensation payment, you can exit the page by closing your browser. You don’t need to contact us as we will automatically send your payment by cheque. We’ll send this to the postal address that was registered on your bank, building society or credit union account within seven working days.

If you’d like to set up a new account with a UK bank or building society, information on how to do this is available on the Citizens Advice website.

If you wish to open an account with another credit union, you can find information on the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) website or the ACE Credit Union Services website.

If you’re based in Scotland, you can get information about credit unions by checking the website of the Scottish League of Credit Unions.

If you’ve received an email from FSCS inviting you to access the FSCS Payments Portal but you live outside the UK, you can still use the portal to request your payment via bank transfer. However, you’ll need to provide details of an alternative UK account for FSCS to make the payment to. Please note that we can’t make payments to accounts outside the UK.

If you don’t have an alternative UK bank, building society or credit union account, you don’t need to contact us as we will automatically send your payment by cheque. We’ll send this to the postal address that was registered on your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you’ve logged in and realised that you don’t have a suitable account to receive your compensation payment, you can exit the page by closing your browser.

We can transfer your child’s payment to an alternative UK bank, building society or credit union account that is registered in their name.

If an email address was registered on your child's account with the bank, building society or credit union that has gone out of business, they may receive an email from FSCS inviting them to access the FSCS Payments Portal and request payment.

If your child doesn’t have an alternative account or you haven’t been invited to use the FSCS Payments Portal, you don’t need to contact us as we’ll automatically send your child a cheque in the post for the amount due. We’ll send this to the postal address that was registered on your child’s bank, building society or credit union account within seven working days.

More information about setting up an account can be found on the Citizens Advice website.

If you’ve changed your name, please let us know. You can get in touch by visiting our Contact us page.

We'll need one of the following:

• A marriage or civil partnership certificate (both must be original); or
• A deed poll confirming the change of name (a copy is acceptable); or
• Decree absolute (a copy is acceptable).

If you've logged in to the FSCS Payments Portal and have successfully completed your request for FSCS to make payment via bank transfer, please rest assured that we have received your request. You’ll still receive your payment within two to five working days.

If you haven’t completed your request to receive payment via bank transfer, or if you'd prefer to receive a cheque in the post, please get in touch with us via our Contact us page.

You’ll need to send us evidence of your new address. Please send us a bank statement or utility bill in your name, clearly showing your current address and dated within the last three months. Once this has been verified by FSCS, we'll send you a cheque for your payment in the post.

If you're contacting FSCS as the power of attorney for the account holder, you can’t use the portal as you’ll need to contact us. You can do so by visiting our Contact us page.

You'll need to send us a Lasting Power of Attorney: Property and Financial Affairs document as evidence. This can be the original document or a certified copy.

We'll also need proof of ID and proof of address for you and the account holder. Once we’ve received the required documents, we’ll issue you with a cheque.

If you're contacting FSCS on behalf of someone who has passed away as their next of kin, executor or administrator of their estate, you can’t use the portal as you’ll need to contact us. You can do so by visiting our Contact us page.

We’ll need you to send us the following documents:

• The death certificate
• The will (if applicable)
• The Grant of Probate letters (if probate has been granted); or
• The letters of administration (if an administrator has been appointed).

These can be certified copies. For the death certificate however, we’ll need the original document.

Additionally, we'll need proof of ID and proof of address for you. We may also require an indemnity signed by all next of kin, executors or administrators. Once we’ve received the required documents, we’ll issue you with a cheque.

There could be a number of reasons why you haven’t received an email from FSCS. For example, the bank, building society or credit union that has gone out of business may not have held a valid email address for your company on its records. You don’t need to do anything.

If you've checked the email address that was held by the bank, building society or credit union for your company and there is no email from us, please rest assured that FSCS will still pay your company. FSCS will send a cheque in the post to the address that was held on file for your company. The cheque will be sent in the name of your company within seven working days.

If you've provided valid alternative account details for FSCS to make payment to you via a bank transfer, or requested a cheque payment, the next screen you’ll see on the FSCS Payments Portal will be the confirmation screen. This will confirm that your request has been successfully submitted. You won't receive a confirmation email or reference number. You can take a picture or screenshot of the confirmation screen as reference that your request has been successful.

Once you get to the confirmation screen, this means that FSCS has received your request to make your payment via a bank transfer to the alternative UK account you’ve provided. Payment will be made within two to five working days. You can contact the bank or building society that your alternative account is held with to check that the payment has been credited.

For security reasons and to protect your personal data, we recommend using a personal device with a private and secure connection. You should never share your personal access details for the FSCS Payments Portal with anyone. Other than to log in to the portal, FSCS will never ask you for your personal access details. FSCS will also never send you an email asking you to send us personal data, passcodes or PIN codes.

If you’re unsure if the email you’ve received is from FSCS, please read the information available for the question above titled ‘How do I know if the email I’ve received is from FSCS?’. 

All UK banks, building societies and credit unions are regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority. These financial firms are commonly referred to as deposit takers. When deposit takers go out of business, they're required by law to share all relevant information with FSCS so that we can compensate eligible customers.

FSCS protects customers of financial services firms that have failed. If the company you’ve been dealing with has gone out of business and can’t pay claims against it, we can step in to pay compensation. It’s completely free to claim directly with us.

For more information about FSCS, visit our About us page.

Please read through the information on this page as it may help to answer your questions quickly.   

If you can’t find the answer to your questions about the FSCS Payments Portal on this page, information about how to get in touch with us is available on our Contact us page.