GTBank UK: accounts, transfers and protection

GTBank UK is a UK bank with one branch, in the west end of London, and it works differently from a high street bank. It takes deposits from private individuals, corporate clients and financial institutions¹. Its personal accounts are opened by post or in person rather than online, and its savings account asks for a £50,000 minimum opening deposit, or the currency equivalent, which must stay in the account².

Eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per depositor, per bank, with a reimbursement period of seven working days if the bank fails³. The bank appears on the PRA's list of UK incorporated banks authorised to accept deposits⁴.

What follows covers what GTBank UK sells, how each product works, how to open an account, how to reach the bank, and where protection begins and stops.

What GTBank UK offers

GTBank UK describes its product set as deposit accounts, residential mortgages for properties in England and Wales, other property finance, internet banking, debit cards and foreign exchange services⁷. Alongside those it offers access, through business partners, to advice on estate planning, trust and fiduciary services, and philanthropy initiatives⁷.

That is a narrower range than a UK high street bank. There is no credit card, no personal loan, no insurance and no investment product in the list. The bank's permissions are equally specific: it may accept deposits from private individuals, corporate clients and financial institutions, and it may enter into a regulated mortgage contract as lender⁶. It is explicitly not permitted to provide any kind of investment advice on investing in the UK or Nigerian stock market¹.

The bank also runs a premium banking service aimed at high net worth individuals and family offices, and says it works with clients from Sub Saharan African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Liberia⁷. That focus runs through the whole operation: the branch network is one office, the account opening process is document based, and the appeal is to people who need a UK banking relationship connected to Africa rather than to someone who wants an app and a nearby branch.

For a wider view of what is available across the market, see current accounts and savings accounts.

Deposit accounts for individuals and businesses

The bank's deposit range covers a current account, a savings account and fixed term deposits⁸. The savings account is the one with the most detail published.

It can be opened by individuals and joint applicants, in GBP, USD or Euros, and it carries no annual maintenance fee and no charges². The minimum opening deposit is £50,000 or the currency equivalent, and the bank states that this deposit must be maintained in the account at all times². It is payable once, regardless of how many accounts are opened². Statements are issued quarterly, and the account can be managed online, by post, by phone or in branch².

The current account is described as a way to conduct transactions in the UK, the EU and Africa⁸. Fixed term deposits are also offered⁸.

For how these compare with the wider market, see savings accounts and ISAs.

International transfers for account holders

International fund transfers are one of the bank's listed permissions, and they are available if you have an account with it¹. The savings account allows you to send and receive international transfers to and from almost anywhere in the world, and it accepts inward BACS transfers and standing orders from UK accounts².

Transfers between GTBank group accounts can be same day, subject to a cut-off time on normal working days and to charges². The bank does not publish those charges on the pages summarised here, so the figures to check are the ones on its own site and in the terms you are given when you open the account.

An international money transfer is simply a payment from a UK account to an account in another country⁹. The protection that applies to it depends on the route. Where a bank makes the transfer, the money sits with a bank and the FSCS deposit rules apply to the balance in your account; where a separate transfer firm handles it, the protection is different, and Which? has set out what happens when an international money transfer provider goes bust¹⁰. The Financial Ombudsman Service also handles complaints about sending money abroad⁹.

For the wider picture, see sending money in the UK and abroad and money abroad.

What GTBank UK does not do: no investment advice

The bank does not provide any kind of investment advice on investing in the UK or Nigerian stock market¹. That is a limit on what the firm offers, and it matters to a reader because it tells you what a genuine contact from GTBank UK will and will not offer.

It also gives you a way to test anything that claims to come from the bank. The Bank of England says it will never provide investment advice or endorsements, and that it will never contact you about investments, refunds, fines or bank details¹¹. UK Finance states plainly that it does not offer any financial products¹². The same logic applies to any firm: an approach that offers investment returns and invokes a bank's name is not a bank approach.

If you want to invest, that is a separate decision with its own providers and its own risks, covered in investing and pensions. Nothing in a GTBank UK deposit account is an investment product, and deposits are not investments: they are protected up to the FSCS limit rather than rising and falling in value.

Banking with GTBank UK: the London branch and online

The branch is in the west end of London, and the bank says it is glad to see customers pop in when they are in that part of London¹³. It is a working branch rather than an enquiries desk. Services available over the counter include asking about opening an account, registering for internet banking, ordering a debit card or PIN, activating a debit card, paying in cheques and cash, requesting a statement, requesting payments from your account or setting up standing orders, and submitting an account application for the parent bank in Nigeria¹³.

The debit card is a MasterCard denominated in Pounds Sterling, linked to a GBP current account, and available to all GTBank UK individual and joint account holders who hold a current account¹⁴. It uses Chip and PIN and contactless technology for small value transactions, and MasterCard SecureCode for online purchases¹⁴. The bank says it gives access to funds and can be used at over 29 million retail locations, on the internet and at over 1.4 million ATMs in over 251 countries¹⁴. You can check your balance and change your PIN at an ATM provided you are within Europe¹³.

Statements can be delivered electronically. The e-Statement service sends statements to your inbox, emails you when a statement is ready, and stores electronic statements on a secure cloud service¹⁶. If you are new to e-Statements you receive two emails to your registered address, one a password notification and one containing a link to your statement¹⁶. To switch to e-Statements you download and complete the Customer Information Update Form from the bank's website and send it to Customer Services, post it to 10 Great Castle Street London, W1W 8LP, or call +44 (0)20 7947 9700¹⁶.

Opening an account with GTBank UK or in Nigeria

To open a savings account you download the account opening forms, complete every section, and submit them with the additional documents the form lists to the bank's offices at 10 Great Castle Street London, W1W 8LP². There is no online application described on the pages summarised here, so the process is document led from the start.

The London branch also accepts account applications for the parent bank in Nigeria, as one of its in-branch services¹³. That is a counter service, not an online one, and it means a visit to London. An account opened that way is a Nigerian account, held with a Nigerian bank under Nigerian rules, and the UK compensation scheme described below does not apply to it.

If you are comparing the account with what else is available, how to choose the right bank account from MoneyHelper sets out the questions worth asking, and our current accounts guide covers the market as a whole.

Keeping your GTBank account secure

GTBank UK recommends changing your password periodically, suggesting every 60 to 90 days¹⁷. The wider rule is not to reuse passwords: identity theft guidance says not to use the same password for more than one account and never to use banking passwords on other websites¹⁸. If you believe someone else has accessed an account, the standard response is to change the password straight away and tell the provider²⁰.

The bank's fraud detection system monitors card transactions on your account for irregular activity and stops a transaction when it judges it suspicious¹⁷. On the debit card it says you are sent a text message immediately and called within a short while¹⁴. A frozen card is a normal fraud precaution, not a fault: card providers may freeze a card when spending suddenly looks unusual, which is worth knowing before you travel²¹. After a trip, check statements and balances for unfamiliar transactions and call the bank immediately if you find one²². Setting up alerts in your app so you know when your card has been used is a simple step in the same direction²³.

The bank also runs email alerts through its GeNS service, notifying you of deposits, withdrawals and transfers in and out of your account in line with the options you choose when you apply¹³.

Cheque security still matters for a bank that accepts cheques over the counter: keep your chequebook in a safe location and tell your bank about any missing or lost cheques²⁶. More on this is in our scams and fraud guide.

Where GTBank is not liable for documents sent by post

The bank states that Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited will not be liable for the loss or damage of any original documents sent to it by post². That is a term of the account relationship, and it applies to the documents you send to open or maintain an account as much as to anything else.

In practice it means the risk of posting originals sits with the sender. The sensible approach is to ask first whether certified copies are acceptable, to use a tracked postal service where originals really are required, and to keep your own copies of everything you send. The same caution applies to the bank's own security expectations of its suppliers, which include notifying the bank without undue delay about any potential loss, alteration or unauthorised disclosure of its confidential information¹⁷.

How your money is protected at GTBank UK

Eligible deposits with GTBank UK are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme³. The scheme pays compensation if a financial services provider fails and cannot pay back your money itself²⁷.

You do not need to claim. The FSCS says that if your bank, building society or credit union has failed, it will return your money automatically up to the compensation limit²⁸. Deposit failures are paid within seven days of making a claim, and most commonly in two or three days²⁹. The Bank of England's own explanation puts typical payment within seven days of the firm failing, with complex claims taking longer³⁰. Temporary high balances are covered up to £1.4 million where the account was credited in the last six months, for example after selling a home³¹.

Two limits are worth stating plainly. GTBank UK does not sell investments, so for a reader here the deposit limit is the one that matters.

If a bank does fail, the practical steps are set out in Which?'s guide to what to do if your bank goes out of business³², and the FSCS has a checker for confirming whether a particular account is protected³³. Our banks directory lists providers, and consumer protection explains the wider framework.

Contacting GTBank UK and making a complaint

The bank's published contact points are its branch and offices at 10 Great Castle Street London, W1W 8LP, and Customer Services on +44 (0)20 7947 9700¹⁶. Mortgage enquiries go to mortgages@gtbank.com, to the same London address, or to +44 20 7947 9779, +44 20 7947 9770, +44 20 7947 9785, +44 20 7947 9766 or +234 1 448 0917³⁴.

If something goes wrong, the first step is the bank's own complaints process. If that does not resolve it, the Financial Ombudsman Service is the free, independent route for banking and payment complaints, including complaints about sending money abroad⁹. The ombudsman publishes case studies showing how it decides these disputes, including a case where a bank transferred money but did not tell the customer³⁵. Complaints about a payment card used without your permission in a distance sale can also go to Trading Standards if the card provider will not refund you³⁶.