Is Your Money Safe with Wise and Revolut? New FCA Safeguarding Rules Explained (May 2026)
New FCA rules taking effect May 7, 2026 require Wise, Revolut, and all UK payment firms to ring-fence customer money with daily reconciliation, annual audits, and wind-down plans. Here's what it means for your transfers.
What's changing on May 7, 2026?
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Policy Statement PS25/12 on August 7, 2025, introducing the most significant overhaul of safeguarding rules for payment institutions and e-money institutions since their inception. The new rules take effect on May 7, 2026.
These rules affect every FCA-regulated money transfer company, including Wise, Revolut, Remitly, WorldRemit, and dozens of smaller providers.
What the new rules require
| Requirement | Before May 2026 | After May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Fund reconciliation | No specific frequency required | Daily reconciliation of safeguarded funds |
| Audits | No mandatory safeguarding audits | Annual reasonable-assurance audits by qualified auditors |
| Reporting | Annual reporting only | Monthly regulatory returns to the FCA |
| Wind-down planning | No requirement | Mandatory resolution pack enabling timely fund recovery |
| Third-party review | No specific requirement | Review all third-party safeguarding arrangements within 3 months |
Why this matters: the insolvency problem
Unlike banks, payment firms like Wise and Revolut are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If a payment firm fails, your money is not automatically protected up to £85,000 like it would be with a bank.
The FCA found alarming data from 12 payment firms that became insolvent between 2018 and 2023:
- Average shortfall was 65% between funds owed to customers and funds actually safeguarded
- For e-money institutions alone, the shortfall averaged 80%
- In 8 of 12 cases, shortfalls exceeded £1 million
- Where funds were returned, it took an average of 2.3 years
The new rules aim to prevent this by requiring daily checks, annual audits, and pre-built wind-down plans.
Which providers are affected?
All FCA-regulated payment institutions (PIs) and e-money institutions (EMIs). This includes:
- Wise (EMI, authorized by FCA)
- Revolut (EMI, authorized by FCA — also pursuing UK banking license)
- Remitly (regulated as a payment institution in the UK)
- WorldRemit (EMI, authorized by FCA)
- PayPal/Xoom (Luxembourg-licensed, passported into UK)
Firms safeguarding less than £100,000 over a 53-week period are exempt from the audit requirement — but this covers only ~23% of firms and just £3.2 million of the £27 billion+ in customer funds held sector-wide.
Is your money safe right now?
Yes — with reputable, FCA-regulated providers. The key protections:
- Safeguarding: All regulated providers already ring-fence customer funds in separate accounts. The new rules strengthen how this is done, not whether it's done.
- Regulation: Wise, Revolut, and Remitly are all authorized by the FCA, which can intervene if rules are breached.
- Speed: Money transfer transactions typically complete within minutes to days — your funds aren't held for long periods.
For a full guide on verifying any provider, see our money transfer safety guide. To compare regulated providers, use our live comparison tool.
