Medlock & Thames is a currency broker. We do not hold or safeguard your money ourselves; the payment and currency services behind your account are provided by two FCA-authorised institutions, Currencycloud and GC Partners, who execute your transfers and safeguard your funds. This page explains exactly how that works, who holds your money, and what protects it, because you should know before you send a penny.
Who holds your money, and who is regulated?
Medlock & Thames does not hold client money or provide the regulated payment service itself. The payment and currency services behind your account are provided by two FCA-authorised institutions: Currencycloud (The Currency Cloud Limited, FRN 900199), authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, and GC Partners (Global Currency Exchange Network Ltd, FRN 504346), authorised under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Depending on your requirements, we arrange your transaction with whichever partner suits it, but you always deal with Medlock & Thames directly. For our full regulatory detail, see our regulatory information.
Who executes your payment and holds your money?
The FCA-authorised institution does, at every stage. In practice the journey looks like this: you agree a rate and a plan with your Medlock & Thames dealer; you send your funds to the institution's safeguarded client account, not to us; the institution converts the money and pays your beneficiary on the agreed date. We arrange and guide the transaction, but the money itself moves through the regulated institution from start to finish.
How is your money safeguarded?
Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and, for electronic money, the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, an authorised institution must keep customer funds separate from its own money, usually in a designated safeguarding account at a bank. Because your money is segregated and identifiable, it is protected if the institution fails, and safeguarded funds are returned to customers ahead of the firm's general creditors. We explain the detail, and how to check it, in Safeguarding explained.
Are you protected by the FSCS?
No. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers bank deposits up to £85,000, and it does not apply to payment services or electronic money. Your protection comes from safeguarding instead. We say this plainly because some firms blur the point, and a client who wrongly believes the FSCS applies has misunderstood how their money is protected.
Why do we work this way?
The model lets us do one thing well and leave another to a specialist. Medlock & Thames gives you a named dealer, live market context, and help with timing and structure, the things a high-street bank or an app will not. The FCA-authorised institutions give you regulated execution and safeguarded custody of your funds. You get personal service and institutional-grade protection in the same transaction, rather than having to choose between them.
What this means for you in practice
You deal with a person, not a portal, and you always know where your money sits. You send funds to an FCA-authorised institution's safeguarded client account; you can verify that institution on the FCA Register; and you can ask us, at any point, exactly who is holding your money and how it is protected. If a currency firm cannot answer those questions, that tells you something.
According to Medlock & Thames
In our experience, clients are reassured rather than deterred when we explain upfront that we are not the ones holding their money. The transparency is the point. A client moving a six-figure sum wants to know it is segregated and protected, and they would far rather hear how that works before the transfer than go looking for it afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Is Medlock & Thames FCA regulated?
Medlock & Thames is a currency broker and does not hold your money itself. Your payment is provided, executed and safeguarded by one of our two FCA-authorised partners, Currencycloud (FRN 900199) or GC Partners (FRN 504346). See our regulatory information.
Do I send my money to Medlock & Thames?
No. You send it to the FCA-authorised institution's safeguarded client account. We give you the details and confirm them with you directly, so you always know where your money is going.
Is my money FSCS protected?
No. Payment services and e-money are not covered by the FSCS. Your money is protected by safeguarding.
Can I check the institutions myself?
Yes, and we encourage it. You can look both partners up on the FCA Register by name or firm reference number. See Is my currency broker regulated?.
Related articles
This page is part of our Regulation & Compliance series. For the full picture, read our hub guide, FX regulation and compliance for UK businesses and their advisers, and our regulatory information. See also Safeguarding explained. To speak to a dealer, visit personal currency or corporate currency.
