Banking, insurance and financial services changes after Brexit

The UK will continue to follow the EU rules transferred into UK law through the EU Withdrawal Act 2018. Although the government will retain the capacity to diverge should it later decide to introduce changes in UK law.

Passporting rights have now ceased and the transition period ended on 31 December 2020.

Passporting refers to the regulation of financial services, allowing UK firms to continue to do business throughout the EU/EEA without the need for further authorisation.

EU/EEA firms currently operating through a passport in the UK under the existing European passport framework will require a Part 4A permission under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) to be able to continue carrying out regulated activities in the UK.

This has led to HM Treasury legislating for a Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR), which has now taken effect.

The aim of the TPR is to allow firms not based in the UK to continue carrying out business in the UK for a limited period while they seek authorisation from UK regulators.

Your financial services provider should contact you if the financial product or the service they are able to offer might be affected.

However, when dealing with a firm from the EU/EEA that’s seeking authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) while in the TPR, it’s possible you might not be covered in the same way as a UK based firm when making a complaint or seeking compensation.

Your provider should tell you if you’re affected in any way.

Yes, the UK has maintained its participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). This means you’ll be able to continue to send or pay in euros electronically.

However, you might find the time taken to process any euro payments and transfers will increase.

If you need to make a payment by a fixed deadline, it might be a good idea to leave some extra time to have the payment processed.

Since 1 January 2021, banks and other types of payment service providers (PSPs) now have to provide extra information when making certain payments between the UK and the EU/EEA.

This includes the name of the payer and payee, and address of the payer. If they don’t provide this information, it’s possible some payments, including Direct Debits, might be disrupted. 

If your payments could be disrupted, your service provider should get in touch with you.

Yes, you can still make cash withdrawals in the EU/EEA. However, these might be more expensive in future.

Your service provider should let you know about any changes in fees and charges that could affect products you have with them.

Yes, you shouldn’t be affected now the UK has left the EU and the transition period has ended.

This is also the case if you have a bank account with a provider based in the EU or the EEA and want to use your bank card in the UK.

Existing consumer rights and protections will continue to apply when using your card to pay for goods and services.

Your coverage or product shouldn’t change because the UK has now left the EU.

The UK has negotiated its future relationship with the EU and has now put in place a Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) to allow EEA providers to operate in the UK while they seek permanent authorisation.

Further legislation was made for a Financial Services Contract Regime (FSCR). This enables firms that don’t enter the temporary permissions regime to wind down their UK business in an orderly way.

If you’d like advice about a financial product, consider speaking to a qualified financial adviser.

Your provider will tell you if your products are affected in any way.

However, contact your product provider if you have any concerns about your policy or the service they offer.

When the time comes to renew your insurance, make sure you shop around to find a deal that’s right for your needs.

To find out where a financial services provider is based or authorised, and if your financial service provider is EEA-authorised, use the Financial Services Register on the FCA website

The existing FSCS protection framework continues to apply.

However, FSCS protection for deposits will depend on several factors. These include where the firm is authorised and in which jurisdiction the firm holds your deposits.

When dealing with a firm from the European Economic area (EEA) that’s seeking authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) while in the TPR, it’s possible you might not be covered in the same way as a UK-based firm when making a complaint or seeking compensation.

Your provider should tell you if you’re affected in any way. If you have any questions, contact your firm for more information.

It will clearly state this at the top of a firm’s page.

Yes. Eligible deposits held by UK-authorised banks, building societies and credit unions in the UK will continue to be protected by the FSCS. This is assuming the firm continues to be UK-authorised.

FSCS protection doesn’t depend on where you’re living, but where the bank, building society or credit union holding your money is based.

If a deposit is held by a branch in the UK, FSCS protection applies. This is unless it’s a branch of a Gibraltar-based firm, in which case, protection would be the responsibility of the deposit guarantee scheme in Gibraltar.

Your bank, building society and credit union must give you an annual information sheet that describes your depositor protection. Check with your product or services provider for more information.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides compensation and protection to customers of authorised financial services firms that have failed.

The government doesn’t plan to revise the FSCS deposit protection limit for UK-based customers of UK authorised firms.

Your bank, building society and credit union must provide you with an annual information sheet that describes your depositor protection. 

However, FSCS protection might change if a customer and/or their firm is based in the EU/EEA.

It’s difficult to predict the impact on any individual investments because this can depend on several factors.

It’s possible there could be a short period of temporary market volatility. This might mean the value of your investments in the short-term could rise or fall.

Whether they fall or rise, and how much and how long, is difficult to predict.

If the value of your investments has fallen and you don’t need access to these funds in the immediate future, this might not be a big problem because markets are likely to recover over time.

However, if you’re planning to cash in any investments in the immediate future, we recommend getting professional regulated financial advice as soon as possible.

The impact of the UK leaving the EU is that rules on whether banks can provide accounts to their customers who are resident in an EU/EAA country might change.

Different countries and different banks are taking different approaches.

These approaches will mean:

• some EU/EEA countries won’t allow UK banks to continue providing accounts to residents
• some banks will be closing accounts for people who are EU/EEA residents
• some banks will continue to serve EU/EEA residents with existing accounts, but won’t allow new accounts.

Your bank should contact you to let you know what they’re planning to do.

If you have any concerns about whether you might be affected, contact your provider.

If your UK bank account or other financial product is being closed, these are the main options available:

• Find a UK bank that’s operating in the country you live in (possibly a subsidiary of your existing UK bank, if there is one) and check you can meet their eligibility criteria for opening a new bank account and that the account will meet your needs. For example, does it require you to have a minimum income or deposit with them?
• If you’re still a UK resident, contact your bank to update your details and remove the non-UK address.
• You can consider using an e-payment provider, however be aware that these don’t come with FSCS £85,000 protection.
• Find a local bank account that will accept payments from the UK. If you don’t qualify for one, ask them if they can offer you a basic bank account. It’s likely that you’ll have to get your pounds exchanged into euros or local currency to pay into the account.

Make sure you understand the fees, charges and exchange rates for any account you set up. A UK State Pension, for example, can be paid into an overseas bank account, but the money you get will be subject to currency conversion.

When you’ve set up your new account, double check you’ve correctly set up all the payment details both for payments ‘in’ and ‘out’.

If you’re a UK customer of a UK firm, there should be no change to complaints the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is able to look at.

However, if you’re a UK customer of an EEA firm that’s operating in the UK under the Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR), or under the Financial Services Contracts Regime (FSCR), your protections might be different.

The FSCR will enable EEA passporting firms that don’t enter the TPR to wind down their UK business in an orderly way.

The FSCR will be time-limited, depending on the type of regulated activity being performed. It will apply for:

• a maximum of 15 years for insurance contracts, and
• five years for all other contracts.

These periods are maximum periods and a firm’s permission (or exemption) under FSCR applies only to the extent that it’s necessary for the performance of a pre-existing contract plus certain limited specified activities.

You’ll be able to find out if a firm you’re dealing with is in the TPR by checking the FCA’s Financial Services Register It will clearly state this at the top of a firm’s page.

Your consumer rights and protections are based on existing EU directives which have been incorporated into UK law.

This means your current protections and rights that you have for your financial products and services won’t have changed unless the government decides to introduce new legislation.

This will depend on your circumstances.

If the business is operating in the UK it should have joined the FCA’s Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) or be part of the Financial Services Contract Regime (FSCR).

If a company has joined The Pensions Regulator, customers will still be able to refer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Businesses in the FSCR that were previously in the FOS’s jurisdiction should remain in the FOS jurisdiction.

If you’re unsure whether you can bring a complaint to the ombudsman service you can ask your financial services provider – or contact the FOS directly.