Terms of Use

Chip Financial Limited - Terms of Use. Updated 12 March 2024. Please read these terms carefully before using Chip service. To download our full PDF click here.

Short of time?

Here's a quick run down of some of the main terms of use for Chip.

The Chip app
Chip is a wealth management app that provides you with access to savings accounts and investment funds and enables you to manage your savings in those products simply and through one place. 

In order to enable us to provide the Chip app and its functionality, we partner with other firms who specialise in securely connecting us to your bank account, so that we can look at transaction data to calculate little amounts to put aside and offer you a range of features and products. We also use another firm to process debit card payments if you use that method to deposit money via the Chip app.

Your point of contact
Although we use other firms to carry out these tasks, we provide and maintain the app and we are the people you should contact if you have any questions about the Chip app or in the unlikely event you encounter any problems when using it.

Savings accounts
Once you have registered with Chip via the app, you will have the option to deposit money into one or more of a range of savings accounts provided by our partner banks. Importantly, whichever of these accounts you choose, Chip does not hold your money as deposit-taker. 

If you choose an account provided by ClearBank, you have the choice of depositing via the Chip app or directly using your individual sort code and account number with ClearBank. When you deposit via the Chip app, we will process your deposit via the app before passing the money over to ClearBank who will hold it as deposit-taker, in an individual account in your name. Where you deposit directly using your ClearBank sort code and account number, Chip will have no involvement in the processing of your deposit.

If you make a withdrawal via the app, we will receive the money from ClearBank before paying it out to your Nominated Account. You can find out more on how your money is protected at: https://www.getchip.uk/how-we-protect-your-money

The savings accounts currently available through the Chip app are shown in the table below:

Account
name
Partner
bank
How your money is held
Account
limit
FSCS process if Chip fails
FSCS process if bank fails
Chip Instant Access Account
ClearBank
In an individual account in your name
£1 million
Our website would be updated with contact details for ClearBank. Your money would continue to beheld by them in an account with your name.
You would be able to make a claim via the FSCS, in the same way as if any other bank were to fail. The payout process will typically take seven days.
Chip Prize Savings Account
ClearBank
In an individual account in your name
£85,000
Chip Cash ISA
ClearBank
In an individual account in your name
£85,000

In order to be covered by the FSCS protection you must meet the FSCS eligibility criteria. If you meet the criteria, you are subject to the FSCS limit of £85,000.

This limit applies to all money held with a particular bank, so if you have other accounts with ClearBank - whether through the Chip App or not - those balances maybe aggregated and count towards the overall £85,000 limit

FSCS protection - savings accounts
Regardless of which account you choose, your money will be eligible for FSCS protection, provided you meet the relevant criteria and, subject to the limit of £85,000 per customer, per bank. You can find out more about FSCS eligibility here: https://www.fscs.org.uk/about-us/

Although all of the accounts we offer access to are eligible for FSCS protection, the process that would apply in the event that the FSCS had to step in would depend on which account you have. This is summarised in the table above.

Account terms and conditions
When you open an account with one of our partner banks, you will need to agree to their terms and conditions. These will be presented to you at the point you sign up for the account. 

Interest on your Savings Accounts
Interest we may pay to your accounts are listed in the Key Features Document of the specific savings account. We give you our current interest rates information when you apply for an account. These can also be obtained by contacting our Customer Success team https://getchip.uk/contact or checking our website: https://www.getchip.uk/savings-accounts

The Key Features Document will explain when and the frequency with which we may pay you interest. Interest will be calculated daily and paid monthly on the fourth business day of each month (unless we have told you otherwise). For the purpose of calculating interest, we work on the basis that there are 365 days in a year, unless it is a leap year where interest is calculated on a 366 day basis.

Chip can change the interest rate of your Savings Accounts.  The Key Features Document will explain when your interest rate may change, and how much notice we will give you.

If the interest rate on your account tracks a specified external independent rate we do not need to give you any notice if we change the interest rate on your account. Details of this can be found within the Key Features Document of the specific account.

All Key Feature Documents can be found here: https://www.getchip.uk/legal/policies-important-documents

Investments
When you invest money via the Chip investment platform, Chip does not hold your money or act as investment manager. Chip processes your deposit (in the same way as if you were saving money into one of the savings accounts provided by our partner banks) and passes it on to Seccl, who provide our investment platform and act as custodian for your investments. Once it has been received by Seccl, they will act on the instructions you make via the Chip app and invest your money into your choice of underlying investment funds.

Details of the range of investment funds available via the Chip app can be found in the app or on our website. 

You will need to agree to Seccl’s terms and conditions in order to make use of our investment platform. These will be provided to you at the point you sign up for our investment platform.

FSCS protection - investments
Any money you invest via our investment platform will be eligible for FSCS protection in the event that either Chip, Seccl or the manager of one of your investment funds fails, provided you meet the relevant criteria and subject to the limit of £85,000 per customer, per firm. 

It is important to note that FSCS protection does not cover you for any losses due to investment performance.

Your point of contact
Again, although we partner with banks and Seccl to provide you with access to savings accounts and investment funds, we provide and maintain the app and we are the people you should contact if you have any questions about the Chip app or in the unlikely event you encounter any problems when using it.

Acting on your instructions
Whenever you deposit money  via the Chip app, we will act on your instructions in passing that money to the bank providing your chosen account or to Seccl for investment in your chosen funds. However we reserve the right not to act in accordance with your instructions where to do so may be against the law or could expose us to regulatory intervention. 

Fees and charges
There are no fees or charges for registering with Chip, opening a savings account with one of our partner banks, or opening an investment account on our platform.

If you choose to make use of our auto-save or recurring save functionality (read more here), you will be charged in line with our current fees and charges which you can find on our website. 

If you choose to invest money via our investment platform, you will be charged an annual platform fee of 0.5% of the value of your investments. You will also have to pay annual management charges for each of the funds you hold on the platform. Details of the charges for each of the funds currently available on our platform can be found on our website.

We also offer a premium plan, Chip X. This costs £5.99 every 28 days but provides you with unlimited free auto saves and recurring saves and also removes the 0.5% investment platform fee if you are an investment customer.