Check if you’re protected and how to complain if you're dealing with a Gibraltar-based firm that’s passporting into the UK.
Financial services firms that are authorised in Gibraltar can provide services in the UK via a passport.
They can do this either by setting up a physical presence in the UK (referred to as a branch passport) or by providing services from Gibraltar without a physical presence in the UK (referred to as a services passport).
It's important to know that firms using a passport won’t have been assessed or authorised by us or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
If you have any concerns about a firm passporting into the UK from Gibraltar, you should contact us[1].
How to tell if a firm is based in Gibraltar
Before you deal with a firm, you should:
- Search for the firm by name on the FCA Firm Checker[2].
- Select the product or service you want from the firm.
- On the firm's page you'll see ‘Authorised in Gibraltar’ next to the firm's status.
What this means for you
While Gibraltar-based firms can provide services in the UK via their passport, you may not have the same protections as you would if you were dealing with a UK authorised firm. For example, you may not be protected by:
- the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service[3], which is a free service that settles complaints between consumers and financial businesses that are still trading
- the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)[4], which is a free service designed to protect you if a firm goes out of business or stops trading
Before dealing with a Gibraltar-based firm, you should check with the firm how you’d be protected if something went wrong and you wanted to complain, or if the firm went out of business.
Check how to complain
If you have an issue with a firm based in Gibraltar, you can get more information on how to complain and check if the firm has or had a branch in the UK at the time of the issue, by searching for the firm on the Financial Services Register[5].
If the firm has a branch in the UK
- In the first instance, you should contact the firm and formally raise your complaint.
- If you’re unhappy with the firm's response, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman as long as the activity was carried out by a branch in the UK.
If the firm does not have a branch in the UK
If the activity was carried out from Gibraltar, you’ll generally only be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman if the firm has joined its voluntary jurisdiction. This means that the firm has applied to the Financial Ombudsman so that it can look at complaints about the firm.
You should ask the firm if it has joined the Financial Ombudsman’s voluntary jurisdiction.
There isn’t an out-of-court dispute resolution scheme in Gibraltar. So, if you're not able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman, you’ll need to take your claim to court.
Find out more about the types of complaints the Financial Ombudsman can help with[6], including the time limits for making a complaint.
Check you're protected if the firm fails
FSCS coverage will depend on the type of product and whether the firm has a UK branch or not.
Bank deposits
You won’t be covered by the FSCS even if the firm has a UK branch. However, you may be covered by the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme[7].
Investments
Claims against Gibraltar-based investment firms are covered by the Gibraltar Investor Compensation Scheme[8] (GICS).
The GICS has a significantly lower compensation limit and covers fewer products than the FSCS. However, Gibraltar-based firms with a UK branch can opt in to the FSCS and top up the GICS compensation limit to the FSCS limit.
Insurance
The FSCS may be able to protect some types of insurance claim if your policy was issued by an insurer passporting into the UK from Gibraltar. But only under certain circumstances.
Home finance, mortgages and debt management
Claims against Gibraltar firms aren't covered by the FSCS.
