Spendesk platform gives access to payment services (including payment accounts, debit cards and wire transfers) which can be accessed through several regulated payment services providers (”PSPs”) depending on the customer’s location.

Who is Spendesk’s partner payment service provider (PSP) for EEA customers?

For customers located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the payment services are provided in EUR (€) currency by Spendesk Financial Services a payment institution licensed in France by the ACPR under number 17518 (100% subsidiary of Spendesk SAS). The license of Spendesk Financial Services to provide payment services in all EEA countries can be verified at any time in the European Banking Authority (EBA) register.

This PSP is subject in particular to the European PSD2 Directive (and local implementation).

How are the funds protected?

1. How are the funds protected in case of insolvency of Spendesk SAS?

Spendesk SAS only provides a SaaS platform and does not hold the customers’ funds. Consequently, a potential insolvency of Spendesk SAS has no impact on the customers’ funds held by the partner PSPs.

2. How are the funds protected in case of insolvency of the partner PSP?

The “Deposit Guarantee Schemes” as defined in Directive 2012/49/EU apply only in case of bank insolvency (i.e., a “credit institution”).

Spendesk Financial Services is not a credit institution, but a “payment institution”. Hence, the deposit guarantee scheme (FGDR in France) will not cover the customers’ funds up to €100,000 in case of insolvency from Spendesk Financial Services. In this scenario, the funds are protected as described in this section.

In accordance with art. 10 of PSD2 Directive and French regulation, PSPs need to implement measures to protect their customers funds, which consist in the deposit of the customer’s funds into a dedicated bank account opened in the books of a credit institution (called “segregation account”). These segregation accounts are:

separated at any time from the PSP’s own funds,
highly and frequently monitored by the PSP’s regulator, and
protected against any claim or actions from the PSP's creditors (including in case of bankruptcy of the PSP).

Applicable law and regulations

🇪🇺 EU law: Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of 25 November 2015 on payment services (”PSD2”) - article 10

🇫🇷 FR law (implementation of EU law): French Code monétaire et financier - Article L. 522-17 and Articles L. 613-30-1 et seq.

References in contractual documents

The protection of the clients funds is mentioned in Spendesk Financial Services terms and conditions (art. 5.2): “The funds corresponding to the credit balance of a Payment Account are protected by SFS SAS in accordance with applicable regulations, in a specific account opened by SFS SAS in the books of a credit institution. The Customer's funds are separated from SFS SAS’s and Spendesk's own assets. Thus, in the event that SFS SAS becomes insolvent, the Customer's funds would be separated from the assets that SFS SAS's creditors could recover.”

Supporting banks where the customers’ funds are segregated

Spendesk Financial Services customers' funds are protected via segregation accounts opened in the books of Natixis (French bank 🇫🇷).

3. Are the funds protected by the deposit protection scheme in case of insolvency of the supporting bank (where the funds are segregated)?

Although the rule below is not applicable in all EU countries, the Directive 2012/49/EU has been implemented extensively in France:

French Code monétaire et financier

Article L. 312-4-1 of the French monetary and financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) states that the deposits made by payment institutions and e-money institutions are excluded from the French FGDR protection scheme only to the extent they are made “on their own behalf” (”dépôts qu'ils ont effectués en leur nom et pour leur compte propre”).

Preliminary works of the French Parliament

Adopted amendment of the French Senate

Banque de France information website

The official information website of the Banque de France / ACPR / AMF (version July 2024) states that: “Les comptes de cantonnement utilisés par les EP/EME pour protéger les fonds de leurs clients sont des comptes de dépôts qui bénéficient de la garantie du Fonds de garantie des dépôts et de résolution (FGDR).

Cette garantie joue pour chaque client dont les fonds sont déposés sur le compte de cantonnement. Ainsi, chaque client de l'EP/EME concerné peut bénéficier d’une indemnisation individuelle d’un montant maximum de 100 000 euros par le FGDR.

En pratique, dans l'hypothèse où la banque qui tient le compte de cantonnement de l'EP/EME venait à faire faillite, c'est l'EP/EME qui recevrait directement l'indemnisation due pour chacun de ses clients, à charge pour lui de continuer à les protéger selon l'une des méthodes prévues par la loi.”

👉 In case of bankruptcy from the French bank holding the customers’ segregated funds, the French deposit protection mechanism (FGDR) would protect the funds of each Spendesk customer separately up to €100k (Spendesk would be indemnified for the whole and able to refund the customers).

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