The Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) pays compensation to you if you lose money when a bank or other financial services provider goes out of business. It’s been in operation since 2003 and has been strengthened since the financial crisis of 2007.

The DCS will compensate you for the amount of money you have lost, up to a personal limit of €100,000 with each financial institution. This means that even if you have more than that amount saved with one bank, you can still only get €100,000 back if the bank goes out of business.

The DCS of Malta covers:

• Money in savings accounts, fixed term deposit accounts and current accounts that are regulated in Malta
• Banks and financial institutions regulated in Malta

If you lose money that was in a joint account, you’re each covered up to your personal claim limit of €100,000. If there are two account names within the joint account there’s a total of €200,000 protection for the money in that account. However, if you have a fixed term deposit account as well as a savings account in your sole name with the same bank, you are only covered for a total of €100,000 across all two accounts.