Tembo - are they any good

poseidon1

Scruffy_Meee said:

I have never used just an online only account before and am looking at setting up a Tembo ISA to transfer my ISA across to, I am slightly nervous about an online only account and was wondering how people get on with the Tembo one?
TIA  

OP I thought i might enter this debate from a different perspective, that is to say the strength of the company balance sheet and the scale of the business.

I would say at this point, I am no stranger to utilising saving providers who may not be the usual household names, but nonetheless  fit my criteria as engaged in businesses I understand, are backed by  large PLC quoted companies, or if non quoted then have strong balance sheets in the 100s of millions ( if not billions). FCA protection alone is not enough.

So in that vein, have held or currently hold savings with Kent Reliance, Charter Savings Bank, Chetwood Bank, Shawbrook Bank, Paragon Bank, Tandem Bank  ( all active buy to let lenders), Ford Money, RCI ( car financing), Oxbury Bank ( business banking and lending to the farming community), Marcus Bank/ Chase Bank ( their parent companies amongst the largest investment banks in the world).

How  does little Tembo compare?  Well notwithstanding it's FCA protection, it is ( per their last published accounts in 2023) comparatively  microscopic in size - see below Companies House link and click on the the link to the full accounts to 31 May 2023

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12008146/filing-history

Nude Ltd was the name of this business until the name change to Tembo Savings Ltd  in January 2025.   It was active as a Lifetime ISA provider.  Although the last accounts shows a net positive  balance sheet of £2.2 million, this is despite rolling operating losses since 2020 which totalled £8.340 million by the the 2023 balance sheet date. But for an unexplained large £9.5 million share premium account balance the balance sheet would have  been a very substantial deficit.


Tembo Money Ltd ( the sister business) and incorporated in 2020, by contrast was ( is ) a mortgage broker to first time buyers but not a direct lender in its own right. Its abridged accounts ( no P &L ) has a positive  balance sheet value in May 2023 of £3.5 million, but similarly  employs an unexplained £7 million share premium account balance to stay in the black after accruing rolling losses.

In November 2024, Tembo attracted a private equity round of  investment in the region of £14 million which resulted in both sets of the outstanding  2024  accounts being delayed and deferred. Presumably, one would hope and expect this inward capital injection will transform the respective Tembo balance sheets into  beliveable positive positions,  once accounts are eventually published.

Now it's possible that Tembo may go on to  become another of the UK's flock of rising fintechs, and that from a small acorn a mighty oak might emerge.

However, OP from your perspective even though Tembo maybe offering somewhat higher interest rates compared to some of the other competitors  mention above, I would question exactly how they are doing so, given their relatively tiny capital base and lack of a large retail or commercial  lending business base ( fees earned as an intermediary mortgage broker, do not equate to sustainable margins earned as a primary mortgage lender).

Finally, I am not necessarily advocating that you or any other contributor to this forum should be embarking on this level of granular investigation before deciding where to place your savings, but certainly by my criteria Tembo (at this stage in their evolution) would not get my vote, regardless of FCA protection.

I would tend to suggest if dipping your toes in unfamiliar waters, you may find the more established  and substantial saving providers mentioned above, somewhat more palatable.

For others the link below which gives a precis of the Tembo back story, maybe of interest  -

https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/insights/fieldfisher-advises-tembo-on-its-14-million-series-b-funding-round

pecunianonolet

poseidon1 said:

Scruffy_Meee said:

I have never used just an online only account before and am looking at setting up a Tembo ISA to transfer my ISA across to, I am slightly nervous about an online only account and was wondering how people get on with the Tembo one?
TIA  

OP I thought i might enter this debate from a different perspective, that is to say the strength of the company balance sheet and the scale of the business.

I would say at this point, I am no stranger to utilising saving providers who may not be the usual household names, but nonetheless  fit my criteria as engaged in businesses I understand, are backed by  large PLC quoted companies, or if non quoted then have strong balance sheets in the 100s of millions ( if not billions). FCA protection alone is not enough.

So in that vein, have held or currently hold savings with Kent Reliance, Charter Savings Bank, Chetwood Bank, Shawbrook Bank, Paragon Bank, Tandem Bank  ( all active buy to let lenders), Ford Money, RCI ( car financing), Oxbury Bank ( business banking and lending to the farming community), Marcus Bank/ Chase Bank ( their parent companies amongst the largest investment banks in the world).

How  does little Tembo compare?  Well notwithstanding it's FCA protection, it is ( per their last published accounts in 2023) comparatively  microscopic in size - see below Companies House link and click on the the link to the full accounts to 31 May 2023

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12008146/filing-history

Nude Ltd was the name of this business until the name change to Tembo Savings Ltd  in January 2025.   It was active as a Lifetime ISA provider.  Although the last accounts shows a net positive  balance sheet of £2.2 million, this is despite rolling operating losses since 2020 which totalled £8.340 million by the the 2023 balance sheet date. But for an unexplained large £9.5 million share premium account balance the balance sheet would have  been a very substantial deficit.


Tembo Money Ltd ( the sister business) and incorporated in 2020, by contrast was ( is ) a mortgage broker to first time buyers but not a direct lender in its own right. Its abridged accounts ( no P &L ) has a positive  balance sheet value in May 2023 of £3.5 million, but similarly  employs an unexplained £7 million share premium account balance to stay in the black after accruing rolling losses.

In November 2024, Tembo attracted a private equity round of  investment in the region of £14 million which resulted in both sets of the outstanding  2024  accounts being delayed and deferred. Presumably, one would hope and expect this inward capital injection will transform the respective Tembo balance sheets into  beliveable positive positions,  once accounts are eventually published.

Now it's possible that Tembo may go on to  become another of the UK's flock of rising fintechs, and that from a small acorn a mighty oak might emerge.

However, OP from your perspective even though Tembo maybe offering somewhat higher interest rates compared to some of the other competitors  mention above, I would question exactly how they are doing so, given their relatively tiny capital base and lack of a large retail or commercial  lending business base ( fees earned as an intermediary mortgage broker, do not equate to sustainable margins earned as a primary mortgage lender).

Finally, I am not necessarily advocating that you or any other contributor to this forum should be embarking on this level of granular investigation before deciding where to place your savings, but certainly by my criteria Tembo (at this stage in their evolution) would not get my vote, regardless of FCA protection.

I would tend to suggest if dipping your toes in unfamiliar waters, you may find the more established  and substantial saving providers mentioned above, somewhat more palatable.

For others the link below which gives a precis of the Tembo back story, maybe of interest  -

https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/insights/fieldfisher-advises-tembo-on-its-14-million-series-b-funding-round

Very informative. Thank you!

BreakingGlass

I just had an email from Tembo to say the following:

At Tembo, we select and partner with national, trusted banks to ensure your money has the best protection. From Monday 31st March 2025, the money in your Cash ISA will be deposited across a wider panel of partner banks - Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Aldermore and Shawbrook. This effectively means you can benefit from over £200,000 in FSCS cover across the banks we work with!

Previously partner banks were just Barclays and Bank of Scotland.  In their email there's a footnote to say that they will never hold more than 40% of your funds with any single bank.

It could have caught me out because I already have money with Shawbrook, but the 'not more than 40%' lets me off.

Blackbriar_040

Quick update regarding the timeframe of my recent Cash ISA transfer from T212 to Tembo!

Mar 17: Transfer Initiated!
Mar 23: Asked to confirm by T212
Mar 26: Transfer complete!

BreakingGlass

BreakingGlass said:

Just for reference: I opened the Tembo Cash ISA (4.8%) last Wednesday and requested a partial transfer from my Coventry ISA (4.3%).  Tembo came back to me within a couple of hours to say that Coventry required a signed/scanned/emailed transfer declaration, which I completed and sent back straight away.  The funds are today showing in my Tembo account as 'funds received', with a note to say that interest will be added to my account when the transfer is complete.  No problems so far; I will provide further update here once it's all sorted.

It's over a week later and my account is still showing as 'funds received' and that interest will be added to my account when the transfer is complete.

However, my wife's Cash ISA application and transfer-in application (from Coventry) were initiated at the same time (19 Mar) and there has been no progress.  She opened a chat with them today and received a message to say 'we're currently experiencing a pause in new transfers due to high demand around the tax year end.'  The money is still sat in Coventry earning interest so it's no big deal, but a bit frustrating that they don't seem to have the resources to cope with the business that an attractive interest rate will generate! 

NorwichMan

Tembo have paused incoming cash ISA transfers due to "excess demand" - I'm hoping that won't last too long.

gm624

Their marketing seems pretty dodgy. I signed up via their referrals scheme, which claimed to offer existing and new customers a bonus payment of between £15 and £250, "chosen at random". A few days later they corrected that wording - unsurprisingly it turns out that the probability is heavily weighted towards the lower end...

WillPS

gm624 said:

Their marketing seems pretty dodgy. I signed up via their referrals scheme, which claimed to offer existing and new customers a bonus payment of between £15 and £250, "chosen at random". A few days later they corrected that wording - unsurprisingly it turns out that the probability is heavily weighted towards the lower end...

It's perfectly possible to be both random and far more likely to be £15 than any other value. 

A roulette wheel is far more likely to return a red or a black number than a green one, it's still random though.

Nijinsky

I was going to post a thread about Tembo, as I'm thinking of transferring my Moneybox cash ISA into a new Tembo ISA myself, for the better 4.8% rate.

The last post concerns me though with Tembo pausing transfers due to excess demands. It makes me wonder if they have the resources to provide a satisfactory service with the excess demands and customers.

I think I might stick with Moneybox, even though the rate has dropped to only 4.2%, but I will keep an eye on this thread to see what feedback new Tembo customers have and if it's worth transferring across. Currently, I'm thinking I would rather earn 0.6% less with a more reliable provider, who will give me less problems and knowing my money is more secure?

MeteredOut

Nijinsky said:

I was going to post a thread about Tembo, as I'm thinking of transferring my Moneybox cash ISA into a new Tembo ISA myself, for the better 4.8% rate.

The last post concerns me though with Tembo pausing transfers due to excess demands. It makes me wonder if they have the resources to provide a satisfactory service with the excess demands and customers.

I think I might stick with Moneybox, even though the rate has dropped to only 4.2%, but I will keep an eye on this thread to see what feedback new Tembo customers have and if it's worth transferring across. Currently, I'm thinking I would rather earn 0.6% less with a more reliable provider, who will give me less problems and knowing my money is more secure?

I've transferred my MoneyBox ISA to Tembo - its currently in the "transfer in progress - funds received" phase with Tembo, but is showing the correct daily interest based on the transferred value, and I expect that will be added to my account based on the experience of others.

I'd say the fact they have paused transferred means they recognise their capacity and don't want to impact services.

For what reason do you believe Tembo is any less reliable or secure that other provider?