How we safeguard accounts

 

Disclosures relating to Safeguarding Accounts

Yoyo Wallet Limited (“Yoyo”) is authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) as an e-money institution (under Firm Reference Number 900645). This means that Yoyo has permission to hold a stored value of electronic money on behalf of its customers and to process payment transactions. The FCA has asked all e-money institutions, like Yoyo, to contact their customers to explain the measures taken to protect customer funds held by e-money institutions. For Yoyo’s customers this means any money you hold in your prepaid Yoyo account.

We advise that Yoyo discontinued prepaid services in January 2018. All of our current customers pay directly at the till using the payment card they have linked to their Yoyo account. This letter is therefore only relevant to Yoyo customers who previously used our prepaid services. You can find out more about the different ways in which transactions are processed by visiting the FCA’s website.

How do we look after your money

Yoyo has a strong belief that your money should be safe and that we should operate in a fair, open and transparent manner, when you shop through the Yoyo Wallet app. If you have previously loaded funds into a prepaid Yoyo account, Yoyo cannot use those funds for its own purposes. We are required to segregate your funds from our own by placing your funds in a separate account (known as a ‘safeguarding account’). These safeguarding accounts are operated by us and designated for use only by you (when you transact through the Yoyo wallet app or request that we return your prepaid money to you). Yoyo cannot use this money for its own purposes. Yoyo’s safeguarding accounts are held with Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays does not monitor the funds that are placed in the safeguarding account or how Yoyo operates these accounts. Yoyo, not Barclays, is responsible for the money held in these accounts.

Yoyo is not a bank

Please be reminded that Yoyo is not a bank even though we are regulated by the FCA. Yoyo is not regulated in the same way as a bank and any funds we hold do not benefit from protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Instead, we have segregated your funds in the safeguarding accounts described above. This means that those funds would be separated from our other assets in the event of our insolvency and used to repay our customers.

How you can raise a concern or make a complaint

If you have concerns, or wish to raise a complaint about our services, you can email support@yoyowallet.com, from the email address associated with your Yoyo account, giving brief details of your complaint. A summary of our complaints handling procedures is available on request. If we are unable to address your complaint satisfactorily, you may be eligible to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent body that helps settle complaints between customers and firms regulated by the FCA. Further details on referring a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, including if you are eligible to do so, can be found here. I hope this letter will provide you with all the assurance you need regarding any prepaid funds. If you do have any questions or concerns, please contact our support team (support@yoyowallet.com) and they will be very happy to help further.

Yours faithfully,

Bevan Ducasse
Chief Executive Officer