Sidekick Money Ltd - Safe to use?

freeguy1984uk

As per the 2 x top savings threads in this forum, Sidekick Money Ltd are offering a 4.89% easy access savings account provided by GB Bank (part of this is % a bonus for 12 months)...

https://www.sidekickmoney.com/savings

Does anyone else feel a bit nervous about using Sidekick Money?

I think it's just because I've never heard of them before.

I have heard of GB Bank though, and can see they are on the FSCS list.

I have found Sidekick Money on the FCA website but I still feel unsure...

https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=0014G000032k6kvQAA

masonic

They are allowed to control client money but not hold it. So they should be asking you to send money to some other third party provider if not directly to GB Bank.

HumberFlyer

I have just gone with 6 month fix with GB Bank, acc opened 5 days ago (via raisin) at 5.03%..... and £100 bonus payable in 14 days time.... am happy with that. You could get 4.87% easy access through raisin and the extra £100 bonus is still there.

Sorry forgot to say... you have to deposit £10,000 though

allegro120

freeguy1984uk said:

As per the 2 x top savings threads in this forum, Sidekick Money Ltd are offering a 4.89% easy access savings account provided by GB Bank (part of this is % a bonus for 12 months)...

https://www.sidekickmoney.com/savings

Does anyone else feel a bit nervous about using Sidekick Money?

I think it's just because I've never heard of them before.

I have heard of GB Bank though, and can see they are on the FSCS list.

I have found Sidekick Money on the FCA website but I still feel unsure...

https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=0014G000032k6kvQAA

Not nervous because the money is protected by FSCS.  I will open this account whilst it's still on offer for  speculative purposes.  At this moment 4.89% rate is too low for me to make any significant deposit.

Eyeful

1. To find if your money is protected by the FSCS you need to use the
FSCS SAVINGGS PROTECTION CHECKER:(see below)
https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/check-your-money-is-protected/

2. Quote from the FSCS website:
 if they are not a bank, building society or credit union, FSCS can’t protect money you hold with them under our deposit protection.

3. Quote from the FCA website:
Client Money
This firm cannot hold client money, but it can control a client's money under a mandate
(for instance a direct debit over a client’s bank account, or some other form of authority given by the client)

They where registered on the28 Sept 2023

4. I have never heard of them before. They sound to me like middlemen.

 Any money deposited with them will not be protected by the FSCS as they are not a bank/building society or credit union. The fscs protection is with money deposited with there partner GB Bank.

5. As always if you are not sure do not let the interest sway you. There are always more fish in the sea.

Something similar is offered by Hargreaves Lansdown:

https://www.hl.co.uk/savings/savings-account

Or look  at:   https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/

6. Remember: I would ignore opportunities that come via

Cold calls

E Mails

Social Media (Facebook etc)

Friend or Family that know nothing about investing. 

LHW99

I am looking at Sidekick Money Ltd on Companies House

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13882980

and this suggests that they have registered their Nature of Business as "Other engineering activities", which seems odd if this is the correct company here.

This company was incorporated 31/01/2022, hs 3 directors,and seems to have had a lot of changes / resolutions in the short time it has been running (looking at the People & Filing links on that page.

Personally I would be wary, as suggested by Eyeful above

penners324

Wouldn't touch them with a badge pole

Middle_of_the_Road

penners324 said:

Wouldn't touch them with a badge pole

Tend to agree. Although these kinds of outfits can serve the purpose of keeping more established providers competitive.

Albermarle

Just the name would put me off !

allegro120

Albermarle said:

Just the name would put me off !

Agreed! Not a clever name for fintech company.  Why so controversial?  Others managed to come up with subtle names like Chip, Moneybox, Plum etc.   

freeguy1984uk

After all considerations, I'm going to trust my initial gut feeling and not use them!

It was the lack of reviews online that concerned me too, something that's not been mentioned in this thread yet.

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.sidekickmoney.com