Afin

Afin is a digital UK bank with two kinds of product: fixed term savings accounts, which you open and manage through its mobile app, and mortgages, where it acts as the lender¹. There are no branches; everything runs through the app, the website at www.afinbank.com and the phone¹.

On the savings side, a fixed term account is one where you pay money in, leave it untouched for an agreed period, and receive it back with interest at the end. On the lending side, a mortgage from Afin works like any other UK mortgage: the bank lends against the security of your home, and the rules that govern how it must treat you are set by the regulator rather than by the bank itself. Because it is a UK bank taking deposits, eligible money you hold with it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers deposits in current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs and savings bonds.

What Afin offers: savings and mortgages

Afin sells two kinds of product, and its permissions cover exactly those: accepting deposits, which is the basis for offering savings accounts, and entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender¹. Those two permissions define everything the bank sells. It does not appear on the register with permissions for arranging insurance, advising on investments or issuing credit cards, so if you are looking for those products, Afin is not the provider for them¹.

On the savings side, the UK savings market offers a wide range of account types, including ISAs, instant access accounts and fixed term options⁵, and Afin operates in the fixed term part of that market. A fixed term account is one where you pay money in, leave it untouched for an agreed period, and receive it back with interest at the end. Afin's fixed term accounts are opened and managed through its mobile app, which is also where you give the instructions that matter, such as which nominated account your money should be returned to at maturity.

On the lending side, Afin acts as a mortgage lender. All mortgage lenders in the UK are regulated by the FCA⁶, and Afin's own permission to enter into regulated mortgage contracts as lender is recorded on the FCA Register¹. A mortgage from Afin works like any other UK mortgage: the bank lends against the security of your home, and the rules that govern how it must treat you are set by the regulator rather than by the bank itself.

If you are weighing Afin against other options, the guides to savings accounts, ISAs and mortgages explain how each product type works, and the directories of banks and building societies and lenders list the other firms in these markets.

How Afin savings accounts work

Afin's savings product is a fixed term account. The mechanics are straightforward: you open the account through the Afin mobile app, fund it during an initial deposit window, and then leave the money in place for the fixed term. During the term no withdrawals are allowed, which is the trade-off that fixed term accounts ask of every saver: you give up access to your money in exchange for the certainty of knowing exactly how the account will run to its end date.

The deposit window is the first 14 days after the account is opened. During that window you can pay money in, and you can pay in more than once, so you do not have to fund the whole balance in a single transfer. If the account's minimum deposit is not met, the account is cancelled and your money is returned to the nominated account you gave when applying. A nominated account is simply another UK account in your name that Afin uses to send money to and from, and it is worth making sure it is one you still control by the time the account matures.

Towards the end of the term, Afin gives notice at least 14 days before the account matures, so you have time to decide what to do next¹. At maturity, the money and the interest it has earned are returned to your nominated account unless you give new instructions, which means the default outcome is that your savings come back to you rather than rolling into another product automatically. Anyone who wants the money to go elsewhere needs to say so before the maturity date.

Fixed term accounts sit within the wider savings market alongside instant access accounts and ISAs⁵. ISAs have their own rules worth knowing whatever provider you use: an ISA is an individual account, opened using your national insurance number, and it cannot be held in joint names⁸. There are four types of ISA available in the UK: cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs and lifetime ISAs⁹. Afin's savings permission covers deposits, and cash ISAs are one of the deposit types the FSCS protects⁴, so a cash ISA held with a bank like Afin is protected in the same way as an ordinary savings account. The guide to ISAs explains the annual allowance and how each type behaves.

Afin mortgages: lending as a regulated lender

Afin's second permission is entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender¹. That means it is the bank lending the money, not a broker arranging someone else's loan. All mortgage lenders are regulated by the FCA⁶, so the same body of rules applies to Afin as to any high street name: the rules on how affordability is assessed, how a lender must treat a borrower who falls into arrears, and what information must be given before you commit.

The rules around mortgage lending have been moving. In the past year the FCA relaxed its rules, enabling providers to increase the amount they can lend¹⁰. What that means for a borrower in practice is that lending criteria across the market are set by a mix of the regulator's rules and each lender's own appetite for risk, so two lenders can reach different answers on the same application. A lender's decision will turn on things like your income, your outgoings and your credit history, and the guide to credit scores and credit reports explains how your credit file feeds into that.

A mortgage is secured on your home, and that security is the reason the rules around it are strict. If you are worried about keeping up mortgage payments, independent help exists: housing charities publish guidance on what to do when you are worried about your mortgage, and it is worth speaking to the lender early rather than waiting⁶. The guides to mortgages, buying a home and debt set out the options in full, and Afin's own website, www.afinbank.com, carries its current lending criteria¹.

Who can open an account with Afin

To open a bank account you usually have to fill in an application form and provide proof of identity, including your full name, date of birth and address¹¹. Those requirements come from the anti-money laundering rules that apply across UK banking, so they are not unique to Afin: every bank asks for the same basic evidence before it can open an account. The practical effect is that before applying you need a document or documents that show who you are and where you live, such as a passport or driving licence plus a recent bill or bank statement.

Some account types carry extra ownership rules. An ISA, for example, can be opened in your own name only, not jointly¹², and it is opened using your national insurance number⁸. For children's savings held in a Junior ISA, the age rules matter: for children aged under 16, only their parent or legal guardian can open an account, while children aged 16 or 17 can open their own¹³. If you are opening an Afin account for a child, or planning a joint account with a partner, it is worth checking which of Afin's account types fit, since its savings accounts are individual deposit accounts run through the app.

There are also legal limits that apply to any bank, not just Afin. Some people are disqualified from holding a current account under immigration rules, and banks must not open accounts for them¹¹. Where a standard account is out of reach, the options are narrower but they exist, and the guide to current accounts explains them. For most applicants, though, the process is the identity checks above plus the bank's own decision on whether the account type suits your circumstances.

How to bank with Afin

Afin is an app-based bank. Its fixed term savings accounts are opened and managed through the Afin mobile app, and that is where you check your balance, give your nominated account details and receive your maturity notice. Applications to open a bank account can generally be completed online, in person or by phone¹⁴, but Afin has no branch network, so for its customers the realistic routes are the app, the website at www.afinbank.com¹, and the phone.

Day-to-day, a savings account with Afin asks little of you. Once the account is funded and the fixed term is running, there are no withdrawals to make and no monthly management to do; the work happens at the start, when you fund the account, and at the end, when you decide what to do with the money at maturity. That makes the app less of a daily tool and more of a place you visit at the beginning and the end of the term.

Service standards are worth thinking about before you choose any digital bank. Because there is no branch to walk into, everything depends on the app working and the phone being answered. Banks are also expected to support customers in difficult situations: guidance for people managing money, including cases of suspected financial abuse, states that the bank should help if you suspect financial abuse¹⁵. If your circumstances change, for example you lose access to your phone or you need someone else to help manage your money, contact the bank directly, and the guide to consumer protection explains what you can expect from a bank in these situations.

Opening an Afin account step by step

The process for opening an account follows the standard pattern used across UK banking¹¹, adapted to Afin's app-based model:

1. Check the account details on Afin's own site. Afin's website, www.afinbank.com, carries its current terms, minimum deposits and account types¹. This page does not repeat product figures, so confirm them there before applying.
2. Prepare your proof of identity. You will need evidence of your full name, date of birth and address¹¹.
3. Complete the application. Applications can be completed online or by phone¹⁴; for Afin's fixed term savings accounts, the account is opened through the Afin mobile app.
4. Give a nominated account. This is the account your money is returned to if the minimum deposit is not met, and at maturity.
5. Fund the account within the deposit window. The window is the first 14 days, and you can pay in more than once during it.
6. Wait for the term to run. No withdrawals are allowed during the fixed term.
7. Respond to the maturity notice. Afin gives notice at least 14 days before maturity; at maturity the money and interest go back to your nominated account unless you give new instructions.

If you are moving an existing savings balance across rather than starting from scratch, the guide to savings accounts covers how to compare accounts and move money between providers.

Complaints and where to get help

If something goes wrong with an Afin account, the first step is always to complain to the bank itself. Give it a chance to investigate and put things right. If you are not happy with the answer you get, or the firm does not reply within eight weeks, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)¹⁶. The ombudsman is free to use and looks at whether the provider treated you fairly and reasonably.

The ombudsman's process is designed to be usable without any help. You fill in its complaint form, and the service publishes guidelines if you are considering using AI to help complete it¹⁷. Once it has investigated, the ombudsman can tell the firm to put things right, and it may also tell it to pay compensation for distress or inconvenience¹⁸. Its decisions are binding on the firm if you accept them.

There are also places to get help before or alongside a complaint. The FCA is the regulator that authorised Afin, and while it does not resolve individual disputes, its register is where you check a firm's status¹. For free, impartial guidance on money questions of any kind, MoneyHelper and the guides on getting started with your money are the place to begin, and the guide to consumer protection sets out your rights across financial services.

How your savings with Afin are protected

Because Afin is a UK bank authorised to accept deposits², eligible money you hold with it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation scheme for customers of failed financial services firms, and for deposits it covers money held in current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs and savings bonds⁴. Afin's savings accounts fall squarely within those covered categories.

The protection applies per person, so the total you hold with Afin counts as one amount, and deposits above the limit are unlikely to be covered⁴. If you hold money with several banks that share one licence, those balances count together; if the banks hold separate licences, they are protected separately. Afin holds its own authorisation¹, so its customers' deposits count towards their own limit with this firm. The FSCS publishes full details of what it covers, and the guide to consumer protection explains how the scheme works across products.

Two further points complete the picture. First, protection of this kind covers the failure of the firm; it does not cover losses from scams or fraud, which follow different rules and routes, covered in the guide to scams and fraud. Second, you can verify Afin's status yourself at any time: the FCA Register entry for the firm shows its authorised status, its permissions and its trading names¹, and searching the register by a firm's reference number is the most accurate way to check⁷. A firm's entry can change, so a check before you deposit is worthwhile.