Tembo uses national, trusted banks to hold client funds deposited into a Tembo Cash ISA or Tembo Cash Lifetime ISA - Barclays and Bank of Scotland. This is due to strict rules prescribed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that customer funds are separate from our funds and ring-fenced - so we cannot use them whatsoever. This means that if Tembo were to cease operating, your funds are protected.

Each of these partner banks is also FSCS-protected, which means that if one of these banks were to go into default, your money would be protected up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank.

Please note the £85,000 limit applies to the total amount of money you hold at any one bank, whether it is deposited by Tembo, by other providers, or by you directly with the bank. So, for example if you have a Barclays current account, the funds held in this account will take up part of your £85,000 claim limit for Barclays.

If you have a Tembo Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA, the units held are in a fund managed by BlackRock Fund Managers Limited. This is an FCA-authorised fund and the units held are FSCS-protected, up to a value of £85,000. This applies per individual - you cannot claim if the shortfall or loss was a result of a general investing risk. The FSCS will not accept any claims for investment underperformance or losses.

The proportion of your money held with each of our partner banks can vary over time, and the banks we use may change over time, which is why it’s impossible to disclose how much of your money is held in each bank.