Deposit protection: is your neobank safe?

"If Revolut collapses, do I lose everything?" It is one of the questions I hear most often when helping someone open a neobank. The answer comes down to a distinction too many people overlook: some neobanks are genuine licensed banks, others are not. And that difference changes everything for the protection of your money. Here is what to check before depositing a single euro.

Are your deposits guaranteed in a neobank in Belgium?

Yes, under one clear condition: that the neobank holds a banking licence. In that case, your deposits are protected up to €100,000 per person, exactly as in a Belgian bank. Revolut, N26 and bunq are licensed banks; Wise, on the other hand, is not, and works differently.

The confusion comes from the fact that the word "neobank" has no legal meaning. Behind this marketing term lie two very different statuses. A licensed bank falls under a deposit guarantee scheme, like any European bank. An electronic money institution (EMI) protects your money through another mechanism, ring-fencing, which does not entitle you to the €100,000.

In practice, for everyday use: if your neobank is a licensed bank and you stay under the ceiling, your money benefits from the same safety net as the bank around the corner. I have opened and tested these accounts myself, and it is the first thing I check before recommending one: the status, before the fees or the app.

What is the €100,000 deposit guarantee?

It is a European system that reimburses your deposits if your bank fails, up to €100,000 per depositor and per institution. The ceiling is set by Directive 2014/49/EU, applied across the Union, including in Belgium.

The principle is simple. Each licensed bank contributes to a deposit guarantee fund in its country. If it fails, that fund compensates its clients, in principle within a few business days. The guarantee covers current accounts, savings accounts and term deposits. It does not cover financial instruments such as shares, which fall under a separate regime.

Watch the small print: the ceiling is per person and per institution, not per account. If you have three accounts at the same neobank, they share the same €100,000 ceiling. For a couple, each holder has their own €100,000 guarantee on a joint account. For everyday balances, these figures are far off; the subject becomes real as soon as you place substantial savings there.

Revolut, N26, bunq: which fund guarantees your deposits?

All three are licensed banks, but each depends on the guarantee fund of its licence country, not Belgium. Here is the picture as of June 2026 — statuses change, so always check the latest information before opening.

In practice, at Revolut, N26 or bunq, your deposits are covered up to €100,000 by the corresponding foreign fund, valid for a Belgian resident thanks to the European passport. A useful detail: since May 2025, Revolut assigns a Belgian IBAN to new accounts opened in Belgium, but this does not change the fund it belongs to, which remains Lithuanian. The IBAN's country and the guarantee's country are two distinct things.

Why doesn't Wise fall under the deposit guarantee?

Because Wise is not a bank: it is an electronic money institution. It does not collect deposits in the banking sense and therefore does not contribute to a deposit guarantee fund. Instead, it applies ring-fencing (safeguarding).

Ring-fencing is a legal obligation: Wise must keep 100% of its clients' money separate from its own funds, in dedicated accounts at partner banks. If Wise fails, this money does not enter the pool of its creditors: it stays identified as belonging to you and is returned to you. That is real protection, but of a different nature than the €100,000.

The practical difference plays out on two points. First, there is no guaranteed ceiling or standardised compensation timeline as with the deposit guarantee. Second, the return depends on the soundness of the partner banks where the money is held. The first time a friend told me "my money is in the bank at Wise," I had to correct him: it is ring-fenced at banks, which is not the same as being guaranteed up to €100,000. For transfers and multi-currency use, Wise remains excellent; for parking a large sum, the nuance matters.

Does the Belgian guarantee or another country's apply?

It is the guarantee fund of the country that issued the licence that applies, not the Belgian fund. For Revolut, that is Lithuania; for N26, Germany; for bunq, the Netherlands. The Belgian deposit guarantee fund only covers institutions licensed in Belgium.

This point often surprises people, but it follows from the European banking passport: a bank licensed in one Union country can operate throughout the Union, and its deposit guarantee travels with it. A Belgian resident at Revolut is therefore protected by the Lithuanian system, under the shared supervision of the National Bank of Belgium and the home authority.

In practice, this does not lower the level of protection, which remains capped at €100,000 everywhere in the Union. But in the event of failure, compensation would go through the foreign fund, in principle within a procedure coordinated at European level. For a cautious saver, knowing which country their neobank depends on is one of the good reflexes, just like knowing your IBAN.

How do I check that a neobank is a genuine licensed bank?

The most reliable reflex: consult the FSMA register and that of the National Bank of Belgium, which list the institutions authorised to operate in Belgium and their status. It is free, public, and settles the question in a few minutes.

Three additional checks help you decide. Read the neobank's terms and conditions: the status is stated there, "licensed bank" or "electronic money institution." Look for an explicit mention of a deposit guarantee fund and a €100,000 ceiling: if there is none, it is not a bank in the guarantee sense. Finally, check the home regulator (the central bank of the licence country).

A concrete warning sign: if an app presents itself as "your bank" but the word "bank" and the deposit guarantee are nowhere in its legal documents, it is almost always a payment or electronic money institution. That is not disqualifying for everyday use, but you need to know it before placing your savings there. To go further, our article Wise or Revolut details this difference in status on two concrete players.

What happens if your neobank goes bankrupt?

If it is a licensed bank, its home country's guarantee fund reimburses your deposits up to €100,000, in principle within a few business days under European rules. You have nothing to advance: the mechanism is automatic.

If it is an electronic money institution like Wise, the scenario is different. Your ring-fenced funds are not lost, since they are separate from the company's assets, but their return goes through the liquidation process, without a guaranteed ceiling or standardised timeline. You recover what is identified as belonging to you, which assumes impeccable accounting of the ring-fenced sums.

It should be put in perspective: these institutions are supervised, and failures of leading neobanks remain rare. But a cautious saver always reasons about the worst case. That is why I have repeated the same thing for years: keep the bulk of your savings in a regulated Belgian account, and use the neobank for what it does best, daily life and travel.

Should you limit how much you deposit in a neobank?

It all depends on your situation. Here is how I decide by profile:

For most people, a licensed neobank used under the ceiling is perfectly safe. The real annual cost of a mistake, concretely, is not the guarantee but concentrating savings above €100,000 there, or confusing a bank with a payment institution. To compare statuses and fees line by line, use our comparator or check our ranking of the best neobanks.

In short

A neobank is as safe as its status. Revolut, N26 and bunq are licensed banks: your deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000 by their home country's fund, valid in Belgium thanks to the European passport. Wise is an electronic money institution: your money is ring-fenced, but without the €100,000 guarantee. The right reflex stays the same for a cautious saver: check the status with the FSMA and the National Bank of Belgium, stay under the per-institution ceiling, and keep a Belgian account for the bulk of your savings. To choose according to your profile, our comparator puts the guarantees side by side.

Sources: National Bank of Belgium (deposit guarantee, licensing of institutions), FSMA (register of licensed institutions), European Directive 2014/49/EU on deposit guarantee schemes, Test-Achats (neobank safety file, 2025), terms and conditions of Revolut, N26, bunq and Wise consulted in June 2026.