When you add money to your Tembo account as a one-off contribution or direct debit, your funds will be held by GoCardless in a designated bank-level secure account for our client funds for up to 1 business day prior to being transferred into the accounts we hold.
Once the funds have been transferred to us from GoCardless, they will land in secure accounts we use for our client funds with our partner banks. Our FSCS information document lists which banks hold the money for each product.
The reason we hold customer funds with partner banks is due to strict rules prescribed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This ensures customer funds are separate from our funds and ring-fenced - so we cannot use them for any purpose whatsoever. If Tembo stopped operating, your money would be returned to you or, for ISAs, moved to another ISA provider where possible.
Money held with our partner banks is FSCS-protected, which means that if one of these banks were to go into default, your money would be protected up to £120,000 per eligible person, per bank. This limit includes any money you hold directly with the same bank. Because your money is held in accounts in Tembo's name, payment could take up to three months, rather than the usual seven days.