Yes. All bank accounts provided by our partner Zempler Bank are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) This provides individual account protection up to £85,000.

Additionally, due to the requirement by deputies for large deposits to be made initially (due to compensation awards, periodic payment orders or transfer of investments, for example), the bank accounts have extended FSCS protection up to £1 million for the first 6 months. This enables deputies to have ample time to plan for investment arrangements to be put in place.

This enhanced protection was introduced in 2020 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to offer further protection to consumers and further information about this and the FSCS eligibility criteria can be found on the FSCS website.

To open a deputy bank account on the Monika platform simply get in touch and our friendly banking team will be happy to help you.

Absolutely. The accounts are individual, segregated and FSCS protected and are opened in the name of the client. The deputy or attorney’s details can be linked to the account also. This enables solicitor deputies to meet their SRA Accounts Rules 2011 (SARS) and obligations under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The OPG released this Practice Note in 2016 providing clarification of their stance in respect to solicitor-client accounts.

Direct debits and standing orders can be easily set up, managed, amended and cancelled when logged into the bank accounts. Standing orders can be set up to leave the accounts 7 days per week and also on bank holidays.

This  365-day functionality is very useful in ensuring that vulnerable clients can receive spending monies every single day of the year to ensure the stability and continuity of routine.

Bank account statements can be generated simply and easily and in real-time from either your online partner account or simply from our smartphone or tablet app. Statements have been designed to be ‘OPG friendly’, to enable you to enter the client reporting period dates for the statements you wish to generate for annual supervision reporting purposes.

You are also able to view all of your client’s bank accounts in one place and generate multiple statements from your online partner account should you wish.

Not at the moment, however, this payment facility is in the development pipeline.

Yes, each bank account comes with a fully functional Mastercard which can be used worldwide and online. You are also able to choose which functions you wish to be made available on the cards or not. An example of this is whether you wish the ATM cash withdrawal facility to be turned on or off.

We are also able to support deputies, attorneys and appointees with additional security functions to ensure that shared card users can buy items online and receive Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) verification messages in a fully compliant way whilst being convenient and practical for carers and support workers.

Yes, you can transfer your deputy bank accounts to the new bank accounts opened on the Monika platform.

If you are a professional deputy and wish to use the Monika banking platform. In that case, we have simplified transferring your deputyship accounts using our unique access to the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) In fact, we have engineered the ability to bulk transfer current accounts so as to make the process as hassle free as possible.

As with standard current account switches, all inbound payments made to the old deputy accounts will be automatically redirected to the new deputy accounts opened on the Monika platform. Similarly, any existing direct debits and standing orders set up on the old account will be automatically ported to the new account, with the old account closed and the entire balance transferred to the new account.

All this happens within seven working days and is completely free of charge.

To discuss arranging for a bulk transfer of deputyship bank accounts, just get in touch and our friendly banking team will be happy to discuss the process and your requirements.

Read an article about how Pay.UK and Money Carer have worked together to develop the Current Account Switch Service to promote financial inclusion for vulnerable clients.

Absolutely.

We often suggest that you put us in touch with your solicitor or financial advisor when they are in the process of setting up the trust, as they can supply us with a copy of the Trust Deed as we will need this to open a personal injury trust bank account. With your permission, we can also supply them with the trust account bank account details when it is opened so they can transfer the funds from their client account if they receive any money awarded.

As your Monika account can also be used to store and view important documents such as the Trust Deed, your solicitor or financial advisor will be able to upload documents into your Monika account, and you can receive notifications when any new activity on your account occurs. You can receive notifications via email or message notifications within our free smartphone app.

You will also be able to see the balance of the personal injury trust account and view any stored documents as well along with lots of other features.

Open a PI Trust Bank Account by contacting our friendly banking support team.

Opening an account as a DWP appointee on the Monika platform is super simple.

Firstly, contact our friendly banking team, who can assist you with any questions you may have. After this, we will send an online application link to your email address for you to complete.

Contact Us here to open a bank account as a DWP appointee

We will need confirmation of your appointeeship with the DWP, and typically, this can be either a copy of the BF57 document that you should have received from them when you were authorised to act as the appointee for the vulnerable person you support or an up-to-date welfare benefit entitlement letter from the DWP which details your name as the legal appointee.

We also need your identification documents for the required Know Your Customer (KYC) check. These can include a certified copy of a passport or driving licence and a utility bill or council tax letter, for example. Our banking team will discuss all of the ID options when you chat with them.

As the Appointee Bank Account will be opened in the name of the vulnerable person you support, we will perform an online KYC check using their details. If their identification can be validated via the online check, then the account will be opened in a matter of seconds and will be ready to use. If their identification is not verified via the online check, then we will ask you to provide us with supporting documents to confirm their identification.

Don’t worry, though; we completely understand that it is very common for vulnerable people not to have standard identifications to confirm a person’s ID. If this is the case, then we have our own identification and address confirmation statement letter that can be completed by a professional person to confirm the ID and address of the vulnerable person in the absence of standard supporting documents.

Professionals who can complete and sign our letter of ID and Address verification are social workers, CQC Registered Managers of care homes or supported living accommodations, Doctors, probation Officers, Police Officers, Solicitors, FCA regulated Financial Advisors, DWP Jobcentre employees and professional from other, recognised bodies.

With this information, we can go ahead and open the bank account, although it will then take about 4 days as our banking partner (Zempler Bank) needs to process the verification manually.

Your Appointee Bank Account will then be opened free of charge, and you can start to enjoy and benefit from all of Monikas financial tools and features listed below:

Some Features of the Appointee Account 

• Free of Charge and simple to open
• Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protected
• Buil-in welfare benefit check and entitlement calculator
• Store, view and share DWP letters and other documents
• Prepaid spending cards for loved ones /carers/support workers
• Biometric fingerprint activated debit cards – No PIN required
• Set up automated balance limits on accounts for safeguarding 
• Get personalised suspicious payment alerts for fraud monitoring
• Use or Current Account Switch Service to transfer old account
• Instant bank statements online or from smartphone app
• Entry onto the Vulnerability Registration Service database
• Access to expert support from the Money Carer Foundation