My Community Bank

buffield

Worried about investing in My Community Finance FRN 718749 (trading also as Amplifi) - showing FSCS logo but when you look at the FCA register FCA states that ...

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is unlikely to be able to consider a claim against this firm if it fails

As a lay person it is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking your money is protected - currently offering good 1 year fixed interest rates

I believe this was brought up last year as a recommended MSE saving account as a community bank - Please investigate

ColdIron

It's a credit union, you might want to have a read of this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6016026/my-community-bank

masonic

The correct firm has FRN 213245 and is called My Community Bank (a trading name of Brent Shrine Credit Union), which is regulated by the PRA and has FSCS protection. My Community Finance is an intermediary, which does not have permission to accept deposits itself, whereas Brent Shrine Credit Union trading as My Community Bank does.

MSE does not recommend savings products. I would generally avoid credit unions because they have a much higher risk of failing, and when they do it may be many weeks or months before the FSCS protection is triggered.

Daliah

buffield said:

Worried about investing in My Community Finance FRN ...... offering good 1 year fixed interest rates

Their rate for the 1 year bond is very good but you can get around the same at other providers where the FSCS protection is easier to understand. I would happily go with Al Rayan, for instance, if I needed to action straight away. But I'd prefer to wait for a week or two, to see whether better rates will be on offer as a result of this week's BoE rate rise.

TheWoodler

I’ve invested a couple of K in this savings product as the money is from a small maturing bond that has done heavy lifting in terms of interest rates for that sum, and this particular product puts the same cash immediately to work with a similar ‘best available at the moment interest rate’ profile.

I wouldn’t invest a lot in a credit union as it’s not an area of finance I understand thoroughly, so not putting too much in is OK for my attitude to risk, but for me FSCS protection, their ethos, the ease of the application process and willingness to keep me informed were attractive (better than some more mainstream institutions!)  - as is diversifying my savings portfolio amongst individual financial institutions and *types* of institution, as well as different kinds of savings products. 

I also like the way they show interest creeping up day by day, which is visibly accessible finance in action. (This suggests they might well demonstrate how loan costs are accruing as well, which seems responsible.)

The one thing I will say is that they don’t have two-factor authentication, but then passcode verification on app-only banks isn’t 2FA either. 

For me that’s a relatively low risk for the sum I have, my attitude to net security and passwords, and the lower profile of the organisation compared to the big players, but for someone else that £2K might be more significant. 

It depends on your attitude to risk and your individual circumstances. For me as a deaf individual who can’t use the phone, I do prioritise organisations like this that communicate well and quickly by any or all of secure message, email or chat, because if I have an enquiry or things go wrong, I don’t want a stressful situation made worse by having to get in touch on the phone. 

Not the point of this thread but worth saying how un-deaf-friendly some financial institutions are in different ways . . . And even secure message doesn’t always work. One building society took 2 weeks to reply to an urgent enquiry by SM. (They lost my business to a competitor.) So I factor all of this in my risk assessment. 

lamanche57

Just had Santander fraud dept on the line as i've been trying to transfer funds to My Community Finance 1 yr fixed saver.  It was listed by MSE and I realise I should have done extra checks myself. Sant have indeed pointed me to the FCA register.  Have read the FCA advisory comments". If this firm goes out of business owing you money you may be able to claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). However, this is not always the case and these organisations may not cover some of this firm’s activities. If you would like to check what is and what isn’t covered, you can ask this firm to confirm this to you in writing".  I have not put a great deal into this account and like Woodler I am considering leaving it.  However I'm going to ring My Community to see if I can get it back as the acct hasn't gone live yet.  Will keep you posted

lamanche57

masonic said:

The correct firm has FRN 213245 and is called My Community Bank (a trading name of Brent Shrine Credit Union), which is regulated by the PRA and has FSCS protection. My Community Finance is an intermediary, which does not have permission to accept deposits itself, whereas Brent Shrine Credit Union trading as My Community Bank does.

MSE does not recommend savings products. I would generally avoid credit unions because they have a much higher risk of failing, and when they do it may be many weeks or months before the FSCS protection is triggered.

That's not what is stated on the website for mycommunityfinance - which says " My Community Finance is the trading name of Amplifi Capital (U.K.) Limited...We're authorised and regulated by the FCA with reference number 718749".  It still comes with caveats though about one's ability to obtain redress for certain of their activities under the FCS.

masonic

lamanche57 said:

masonic said:

The correct firm has FRN 213245 and is called My Community Bank (a trading name of Brent Shrine Credit Union), which is regulated by the PRA and has FSCS protection. My Community Finance is an intermediary, which does not have permission to accept deposits itself, whereas Brent Shrine Credit Union trading as My Community Bank does.

MSE does not recommend savings products. I would generally avoid credit unions because they have a much higher risk of failing, and when they do it may be many weeks or months before the FSCS protection is triggered.

That's not what is stated on the website for mycommunityfinance - which says " My Community Finance is the trading name of Amplifi Capital (U.K.) Limited...We're authorised and regulated by the FCA with reference number 718749".  It still comes with caveats though about one's ability to obtain redress for certain of their activities under the FCS.

There's nothing in the text you've quoted that contradicts what I have said. Check the FCA register yourself. Amplifi Capital (U.K.) Limited trading as My Community Finance does not have the regulatory permission to accept deposits or hold client money. Any money you sent it would not be FSCS protected, but as it is just acting as an intermediary, it should not ask you to send it any money.

https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000001SHUW4AAP

The My Community Finance website states that it does not accept deposits from customers, it only "introduces savers to a network of partnering Credit Unions: My Community Bank & Castle Community Bank. Deposits are held by the Credit Unions while customers gain 24/7 access through the My Community Finance portal."

https://www.mycommunityfinance.co.uk/saving-products

Anyone considering opening an account should first be clear about which financial institution is accepting their deposit, they should ensure that firm has the correct regulatory permission on the FCA register, e.g...

You should then be very sure of the entity you are sending your money to. Never make a transfer to an account owned by a firm that does not have permission either to accept deposits or hold client money.

...or if all of this seems to complex, take a 0.01% hit on interest and go with the next best option.

Daliah

The construct of the My Community Bank savings offerings is so opaque that I would always give them a wide berth, even if their interest rates were market leading.

MCB is currently offering 3.1% for 1 year fixed, with lots of questions and complicated company connections.

Tandem is 3.3%, with clean, straight forward terms and app.

Note that your payments to ANY new payee can be held up by any bank for further checks. It does not imply that the payee is dodgy.

Eyeful

To find if your money in My Community Bank (FRN; 213245) is protected use the FSCS checker..
https://www.fscs.org.uk/check-your-money-is-protected/

Type into the 1st box: My Community Bank
Type into the 2nd box: 85000
Press the "Check Now" key

The FCSC state that £85000 is protected.
Money at risk is £0.00

The FSCS at least thinks your money is protected if you put your money into either a Savings Account or a Saving Bond with this bank.

Just remember that if you put your money into any type of investment bond (such as a mini-bond)
your money will not be protected by the FSCS as above!

masonic

Eyeful said:

To find if your money in My Community Bank (FRN; 213245) is protected use the FSCS checker..
https://www.fscs.org.uk/check-your-money-is-protected/

The problem is that the firm offering the savings the product is My Community Finance / Amplifi Capital, so if someone goes and checks that with the FSCS, they get this:

This does not give an accurate picture of the actual status of the money, which is not held by the operator of the account, as the deposit-taking is subcontracted. It doesn't help that there are two different firms involved with very similar trading names.

My Community Finance does not state in the pre-contract information which of its partners will end up with your money, so it is very hard for customers to be confident their money will be protected ahead of applying.