Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Yes, of course. The Money Carer Foundation pioneered the concept and launch of carer cards back in 2012. Issuing cards for carers is an integral part of the platform and the system allows deputies and attorneys to put in place spending and balance parameters to safeguard clients.
This is very helpful to demonstrate that deputies have suitable due diligence and oversight of client funds made available to carers of case managers.
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.
Emergency cash payments can be made in two simple ways.
Option 1: Send an instant email or text message from your Monika account so that a client or carer can receive a barcode that can be shown at any PayPoint outlet (there are 28,000) in exchange for cash up to £100.
Option 2: Send an instant text message to a client or carers mobile phone using our CashbyText facility so that they can withdraw cash from an ATM machine without a card using their mobile telephone number and secret code. There are 10,500 ATM machines across the UK that can be used and cash withdrawals up to £500 can be accessed immediately.
Both of these options are great to have if a cares card or client budget card has been lost for example and emergency funds are required. All payment methods are fully auditable within Monika
The Monika platform enables users to ‘store up’ payments throughout the day and then securely send them at regular intervals via the Faster Payments network. Users can simply add payments that need to be made to the queuing system for them to be disbursed in bulk at the convenience of the team or organisation.
A payment or creditor library is available in Monika and users will simply choose which organisation or individual needs to be paid and for what amount from within a number of payment points in the platform. This easy yet highly secure and auditable facility drives efficiencies for users and makes what has often been a time consuming and overly complicated process simple.
Each partner will be given their own secure bulk payments login with Zempler Bank and is integrated into Monika as part of our service.
Due to our long-established partnership with GoCardless, Money Carer has developed a new, ‘high-value transaction’ direct debit service to assist deputies and attorneys in a very practical way.
Our Client Funds Access Service (CFAS) enables you (as deputy or attorney) to instruct us to transfer funds from your client’s personal bank accounts (HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Nationwide etc) into the Zempler Bank accounts we will open for you on the Monika platform in your client’s name.
Upon receipt of the relevant certified documents (deputyship court order, and the deputy’s ID documents) we are able to set up a single, high-value direct debit of no more than £50,000 with the funds being deposited into a Zempler Bank account opened on your behalf in your client’s name on the Monika banking platform.
This truly game-changing innovation enables deputies and attorneys to access client funds within 7-10 working days as opposed to the many months it typically takes to access or close your client’s bank account with the major banks. This simple, important, innovation enables the deputy or attorney to pay care or other bills without the long delays that can often put clients’ care arrangements at risk.
The transfer process is fully compliant and, importantly, it is triggered in the system by the deputy and is fully transparent with individual transaction statements generated for reporting purposes. In short, you are in charge and our systems simple make the transfer happen seamlessly.
For examples of how the CFAS innovation benefits our partners, clients, local authorities and care providers read some of our case studies.
Our sweep service enables deputies, attorneys and appointees to automatically sweep funds between accounts on the platform.
For example, if you have set up carer shopping funds accounts you can specify the maximum or minimum balances to be made available on the accounts. For a high balance sweep setting, you may specify that you don’t want the balance to go above £300 or for a low balance setting, you may want the account to always maintain a balance of £30.
Similarly, you can use the sweep settings in exactly the same way for your client’s personal spending monies or you may wish to sweep excess funds into a savings or investment account that you manage for your client.
Automated sweep settings are simple to set up and easy to alter or change from within your Monika account within seconds.
In order to instruct us to debit your client’s bank account, we will need to be provided with the following information:
- A certified copy of the deputyship order or registered LPA
- A certified copy of the security bond (if applicable)
- Certified ID documents of the deputy or attorney for KYC purposes (drivers license, passport, utility bill etc)
Upon receipt of these documents, we will be able to start the bank account direct debit process within Monika and you will receive an email to provide explicit consent and to authorise the transaction. You will be notified of the progress at all stages and this will also be visible within your Monika account as well.
When the transaction has been completed an individual transaction statement can be generated within Monika for your records and reporting requirements.
Sweeps are automated to occur in the early mornings before any regular payments take place. Sweeps can be set to happen on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and are processed as bulk payments through the Zempler bulk payment portal linked to your Monika account.
So long as the accounts you wish to sweep funds into accept payments via the Faster Payments network then, yes, Monika’s sweep facility can be used for this purpose as well.
A shared carers card is a card that has been designated for use by different carers or support workers.
This is a very popular service used by thousands of carers who support the clients of The Money Carer Foundation and each carer is verified within the Monika system as an authorised user as part of the clients ‘circle of care.
Deputies, attorneys and appointees are able to also able to use the shared carers card service in the same way, however, the carer verification process is undertaken by each organisation separately and the liability of any fraudulent activity or misappropriated funds remains with that organisation. A disclaimer statement is required for this purpose.
We recommend that deputies, attorneys or appointees make use of the Monika sweep system so that balance controls (and hence a simple risk reduction policy) can be put in place to demonstrate due diligence and oversight.
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.
Our banking platform is integrated into the Zempler Bank multiple (bulk) payment portal. Each Monika partner is provided with their own portal access where multiple, secure payments can be disbursed in payments runs at the convenience of the partner organisation.
The payments are made via the Faster Payments network and funds are typically credited within minutes into the destination bank accounts. This facility saves partners a significant amount of time as payments are simply requested easily within Monika throughout the day and then queued for bulk release whenever the organisation wishes to release them. Some organisations may opt to have one payment run per day whilst others may choose to have several payment runs per day depending on the amount of urgency of the payment disbursements.
The release of the payments is convenient yet highly secure with multiple stages of authority options built in to cater for each partner’s preferences when it comes to internal compliance around the release of client funds.
The client funds balance report provides a breakdown of the money held in each bank account along with a total combined balance by the individual client and an overall position of the total funds held in all accounts.
This report is presented in CSV or PDF format and is also displayed in chart format to give an easy look snapshot of the status of balances over a 24-month period (default setting) or the option of displaying the balance movement data between two dates (for OPG reporting date purposes for example)
Staying on top of expected welfare benefit payments can be a task that requires constant manual checking and, as such, can be easily overlooked.
This built-in missed welfare benefits report reduces risk by using machine learning to understand which of your client’s benefits are due and to provide alerts if the expected welfare benefits payment does not arrive or if a lower (or higher) than expected payment is received.
The report is broken down by benefit type (PIP, ESA, State Pension etc) and can be directed to the nominated individual or fee responsible for overseeing a particular clients day to day money management affairs.
Yes. So long as the account has a sort code and individual account number then the funds in the account can be accessed via direct debit.
In some cases, individual restrictions may be in place, however.
A personal injury trust account in the UK is a special type of bank account used to hold compensation received for a personal injury claim, such as damages from an accident, medical negligence, or other injury-related cases. The primary purpose of a personal injury trust is to ensure that the compensation does not affect the injured person’s eligibility for means-tested benefits or care support.
Key Features of a Personal Injury Trust:
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Exemption from Means-Tested Benefits:
- Without a trust, compensation could be counted as part of your financial assets. If your total assets exceed a certain threshold (e.g., £6,000 for certain benefits), this might reduce or disqualify you from receiving benefits.
- Funds held in a personal injury trust are disregarded for means-tested benefits purposes as long as the trust is correctly set up.
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Protection of Funds:
- A trust protects the compensation from being spent unintentionally or accessed by creditors, family members, or others.
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Set-Up Timeframe:
- It’s recommended to set up the trust within 52 weeks of receiving the compensation. During this period, the compensation is generally disregarded for means-testing purposes, even if a trust isn’t yet in place.
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Trustees:
- The trust requires trustees, who are individuals responsible for managing the account. Typically, you (the injured party) can be a trustee, but it’s advisable to appoint at least one or two other trustworthy individuals, such as family members or professionals.
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Types of Trusts:
- The most common type used for this purpose is a bare trust (simple trust), where the injured person retains full control over how the funds are used, but the funds are still legally held in trust.
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Uses of the Funds:
- The funds can only be used for your benefit, such as medical care, housing adaptations, or general living costs. However, trustees should ensure the spending aligns with the trust’s purposes.
The Personal Injury Trust Account from Money Carer
Professionals such as solicitors, independent financial advisors (IFAs), and family trustees can open a personal injury trust bank account on the Monika banking platform within minutes. The account can then be used to receive deposits and make payments from a bank account to support the beneficiary in line with the trustee’s fiduciary responsibilities.
As Money Carer has a unique and long-established relationship with Zempler Bank, trustees can immediately benefit from the banking services technology and payment innovations developed by Money Carer and used by hundreds of law firms and local authorities to help them fulfil their fiduciary duties in supporting the vulnerable people under their care.
To open a personal injury trust bank account, simply contact us.
A trust is a legal arrangement that allows money, property, or other assets to be managed on behalf of someone else. It provides a structured way to ensure that these assets are used for the benefit of the intended individual(s), often under specific conditions outlined by the person who created the trust.
Key Parties Involved in a Trust
Every trust involves three main roles:
- The Settlor: This is the person who creates the trust by placing money or assets into it. In Scotland, the settlor is referred to as the “Granter.” The settlor also decides the terms of the trust, including who will benefit and how the assets should be managed or distributed.
- The Beneficiary: This is the individual or group of individuals who will benefit from the trust. Beneficiaries can receive income, assets, or other advantages from the trust, depending on its terms.
- The Trustee: This is the individual, group, or institution responsible for managing the trust. Trustees ensure the trust’s assets are managed in line with the settlor’s instructions and for the benefit of the beneficiary. Trustees have a legal duty to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and to follow the terms of the trust.
Advantages
1. Protection of Means-Tested Benefits
- Preserves eligibility: Compensation placed in a personal injury trust is disregarded when assessing eligibility for means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, Income Support, or Housing Benefit.
- Mitigates financial impact: Without a trust, compensation could push you over the savings threshold, causing you to lose benefits.
2. Protection of Assets
- Ring-fenced funds: The trust ensures that the compensation is separate from your personal finances, reducing the risk of mismanagement or impulsive spending.
- Asset preservation: Helps protect the compensation from creditors, divorce settlements, or other claims.
3. Flexibility and Control
- Controlled access: Trustees (appointed by you) manage the funds, which can ensure that money is used for its intended purpose, such as healthcare, housing, or other necessities.
- Tax planning opportunities: Trusts can sometimes offer tax advantages, though this depends on specific circumstances.
4. Peace of Mind
- Professional oversight: Trustees can include professionals who provide financial advice, ensuring the money is invested and used wisely.
- Longevity of funds: Ensures that funds last over the long term, particularly for those with ongoing care or medical needs.
Disadvantages
1. Costs
- Set-up costs: Establishing the trust requires legal assistance, which can be expensive.
- Ongoing fees: Trustees, especially professional ones, may charge fees for managing the trust. There may also be costs for preparing annual accounts.
2. Administrative Burden
- Ongoing compliance: Trustees must comply with legal and regulatory requirements, which can involve paperwork and reporting.
- Time-consuming decisions: Trustees must collectively agree on how the funds are managed and spent, which can delay decisions.
3. Limited Access
- Restricted use of funds: The trust can only be used for specific purposes, as outlined in the trust deed. You’ll need trustee approval for withdrawals.
- Potential frustration: Some beneficiaries find it inconvenient not to have direct access to their compensation.
4. Tax Implications
- Tax liabilities: While many personal injury trusts have limited tax exposure, they may still incur tax on income or capital gains generated within the trust if they exceed certain thresholds.
- Inheritance Tax (IHT): Depending on the type of trust, there could be IHT implications every 10 years or when assets are distributed.
5. Trustee Challenges
- Trustee selection: Choosing suitable trustees can be difficult. Trustees need to act in your best interests and manage the trust responsibly.
- Trustee disagreements: Conflicts among trustees could lead to delays or legal disputes.
6. Potential Impact on Relationships
- Dependency on trustees: Relying on trustees for access to funds can strain personal relationships if friends or family members are appointed.
Who Should Consider a Personal Injury Trust?
- Individuals receiving a significant compensation payout and who rely on means-tested benefits.
- People who need long-term financial planning for ongoing care or medical expenses.
- Those seeking to safeguard their compensation from financial mismanagement or external claims.
Types of Personal Injury Trusts
- Bare Trusts: The beneficiary has direct entitlement to the funds, and income tax is paid at the beneficiary’s rate.
- Discretionary Trusts: Trustees decide how and when to distribute funds, offering more flexibility and protection but with more complex tax rules.
- Life Interest Trusts: The beneficiary has the right to income generated by the trust, while capital is preserved for others.
Key Takeaway: A personal injury trust can offer significant benefits in terms of financial protection and means-tested benefit preservation. However, it is important to weigh the costs, administrative responsibilities, and restrictions. Consulting with a solicitor or financial adviser is crucial to determine if a trust aligns with your circumstances.
If you would like to open a personal injury trust bank account on the Monika platform, simply contact us and our friendly banking team will be happy to assit you with this.
The cost of setting up a personal injury trust in the UK can vary depending on the complexity of the trust, the type of trust chosen, and the professional services you use (e.g., solicitors, financial advisors). Here’s a breakdown of the typical costs:
Typical Costs
- Basic Setup Costs
- For a straightforward Bare Trust (the simplest type of personal injury trust), the setup cost is typically between £300 and £600.
- For more complex trusts like Discretionary Trusts, costs can range from £1,000 to £2,500 due to the additional legal and tax considerations.
- Professional Fees
- Solicitors’ fees: Solicitors usually charge a fixed fee for drafting the trust deed and advising on the setup. This is often included in the setup cost mentioned above.
- Financial advice fees: If you seek advice on managing or investing the compensation, independent financial advisors may charge additional fees, either as a flat fee or a percentage of the investment.
- Ongoing Administration Costs
- If you appoint professional trustees (e.g., a solicitor or accountant), they may charge annual fees for managing the trust. This can range from £500 to £2,000+ per year, depending on the complexity of the trust and the level of involvement required.
- DIY trusts (where family members or close friends act as trustees) generally have no ongoing professional fees but may still require occasional legal or accounting advice.
- Additional Costs
- Tax advice: For discretionary trusts, you may need advice on income tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax implications. A one-off consultation with a tax advisor could cost £200 to £500.
- Bank account fees: Many trusts require a separate bank account, which may incur maintenance fees, especially for business or trustee accounts.
It is worth noting that setting up a Personal Injury Trust on the Monika Banking Platform is free of charge.
Cost Factors
- Type of Trust: Bare Trusts are simpler and less expensive than Discretionary Trusts, which require more detailed drafting and administration.
- Professional vs. Non-Professional Trustees: Using family or friends as trustees reduces costs but may lack expertise.
- Size of the Compensation: Larger settlements may require more complex trusts and professional advice, increasing costs.
How to Minimise Costs
- Shop around: Compare fees from different solicitors or trust providers.
- Use fixed-fee services: Many solicitors offer fixed-fee packages for personal injury trusts, avoiding unexpected costs.
- Consider your needs: If the trust is for straightforward purposes, a Bare Trust may suffice, reducing setup and administration costs.
Funding the Trust Setup
The cost of setting up the trust can often be paid from the compensation awarded, ensuring that it doesn’t require out-of-pocket expenses.
For an exact quote, it’s recommended to consult a solicitor experienced in personal injury trusts. They can assess your needs and provide a clear breakdown of the costs involved.
To open a personal injury trust bank account, simply contact us.
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.
Yes, you can, and its simple to do so.
Firstly, we will open a free Personal Injury Trust bank account for the trustees. Please provide us with a copy of the Trust Deed, the relevant identification details of each trustee and the beneficiary of the trust. Our banking partner, Zempler Bank, will then undertake the necessary KYC (Know Your Customer) checks using the information you have provided.
Once we have received the confirmation from Zempler Bank that all the documentation is in order, we can open the trustee managed bank account in the name of the beneficiary within a matter of minutes. If there are any queries that arise from the documentation you provide, our banking team will liaise with you directly to obtain any additional information Zempler Bank may require in order to proceed with the opening of the account on the Monika platform.
Once we have opened the personal injury trust account, you will be able to transfer the money held in the old trust account into the new trust bank account opened on the Monika platform so that the trustee can then manage the funds more easily using the unique features and functionalities available within Monika.
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
In the UK, several high street banks and building societies have recently withdrawn their personal injury trust accounts, citing increased costs, complexity, and compliance challenges. Notably, Nationwide Building Society has closed such accounts, leaving customers to seek alternatives.
This trend has significantly impacted vulnerable individuals, including those with disabilities or learning difficulties, who rely on these accounts to manage compensation funds without affecting their eligibility for means-tested benefits. The closures have led to difficulties in accessing essential funds, causing distress among account holders.
The Monika Banking Platform provided by Money Carer, the UK’s largest provider of appointee money management services for vulnerable people, provides a much-needed solution via its Personal Injury Trust Bank Account that allows professional and family trustees to open an account online and free of charge.
The account can be used to receive deposits and make payments to support trustees and beneficiaries, and can also be linked to separate, everyday spending accounts and issue prepaid debit cards for use by beneficiaries or their carers.
In summary, while a few traditional banks like Metro Bank offer personal injury trust accounts with associated fees and potentially longer setup times, innovations such as the Monika Banking Platform provide a more modern, cost-effective banking service with quick account opening and no setup fees.
Linked Article: Nationwide Building Society Personal Injury Trust Accounts