Deposit guarantees worldwide: what really protects your money
EUR 100,000 in the EU, GBP 85,000 in the UK — but what happens in a real crisis? The global comparison and what deposit guarantees actually cover.
Deposit guarantees are one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal finance. Most people know the number: EUR 100,000 in the EU, GBP 85,000 in the UK. Few know what that number actually means in a real crisis — and what it does not cover.
What deposit guarantees cover
A deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) protects cash deposits at a bank if that bank fails. It does not protect against market losses, inflation or currency devaluation. It does not protect securities, bonds or funds held in custody. It protects the cash balance in your current and savings accounts.
EU: EUR 100,000 per depositor per institution, under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD). Each EU member state runs its own scheme, funded by the banks operating in that country. Payout within 7 working days.
UK: GBP 85,000 per depositor per institution, under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Payout within 7 days for most cases.
Switzerland: CHF 100,000 per depositor per institution, under esisuisse. Funded by member banks, payout within 7 working days.
Singapore: SGD 75,000 per depositor per institution, under the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). Covers deposits at full banks and finance companies.
The global comparison
| Country / Region | Limit | Scheme |
|---|---|---|
| EU (per member state) | EUR 100,000 | DGSD |
| UK | GBP 85,000 | FSCS |
| Switzerland | CHF 100,000 | esisuisse |
| Singapore | SGD 75,000 | SDIC |
| USA | USD 250,000 | FDIC |
| Georgia | GEL 50,000 (approx. EUR 17,000) | NDIF |
| Serbia | EUR 50,000 | Deposit Insurance Agency |
| Panama | None (no DGS) | — |
| Vanuatu | None (no DGS) | — |
| Cayman Islands | None (no DGS) | — |
The bail-in dimension
Deposit guarantees and bail-in are two different things. The deposit guarantee protects you if the bank fails and is wound up. The bail-in regime, active in the EU and UK since 2016, allows regulators to convert deposits above the guarantee threshold into bank equity to rescue a failing bank — without winding it up.
That means: in an EU or UK bank failure, deposits above EUR 100,000 / GBP 85,000 can be converted into (potentially worthless) bank shares. The bail-in does not apply to accounts held outside the EU and UK systems. That is one of the structural arguments for accounts in Georgia, Singapore or Switzerland. The full picture is in bail-in explained.
What the numbers do not tell you
The guarantee limit is a ceiling, not a floor. Whether a scheme actually pays out in a systemic crisis depends on the scheme's funding, the political will of the state behind it and the speed of the resolution process. The 2012 Cyprus crisis showed what happens when the scheme is underfunded and the state is insolvent: depositors above the threshold lost a substantial portion.
The honest conclusion: deposit guarantees are a useful safety net for small balances at regulated banks. They are not a substitute for diversification. Spreading deposits across multiple institutions, multiple jurisdictions and multiple currencies is the only approach that works at scale.