United Kingdom
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Beacon
Cheshire credit union, ex Halton CU. Common bond. Not Beacon Bank US and not a BaaS.
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6.0Mixed
AlternativesFive questions
At a glance
Is it a bank?
No. Beacon is not a bank. Your money sits with Beacon Credit Union Ltd.
If it fails?
FSCS on eligible credit-union deposits if the CU is authorised — confirm live. Cap follows the scheme (£120,000 from 1 Dec 2025).
Salary?
Not listed. An IBAN or sort code is not automatically a salary account.
Open from abroad?
Residency and KYC are gated. An App Store listing is not proof you can onboard.
Monthly fee
£2 entrance + £1 minimum share — then CU tariff
Account number
No IBAN-class local rail on this file.
NeoBankDB Verdict
Licence first · score second
6.0
/10 · Mixed
Beacon Savings & Loans is Halton Credit Union under a 2024 trading name. Common bond: Cheshire and WA. £2 to join. This is not Beacon Bank (US, NYSE regional) and not a BaaS middleware. If you do not live or work in the bond, you cannot join. Starling remains the salary object.
What it is
Runcorn Shopping City. Play package uk.co.haltoncu.app. Directories scrape ‘Beacon neobank UK’ and collide with a US bank ticker. This desk writes the credit-union file and leaves the US regional alone.
Best for: People who live or work in Cheshire or WA postcodes and want a credit union, not a current-account app.
Last checked 2026-08-28. Not advice.
What it does well
- +Named UK credit union
- +FSCS path
- +Common bond is honest
- +Not a US regional bank of the same name
What to watch
- −Not a bank
- −Geography is the product
- −No travel debit
- −Tiny
Who holds the money
The account
How money actually moves
- Who holds the cash
- Insured bank deposit
- How money moves
- Faster Payments
- Built for
- Personal
- Settlement
- App-ledger instant; bank rails per corridor
- Freeze risk
- Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
- Card
- Beacon has no card listed on this file.
Licence first
Safety
FSCS on eligible credit-union deposits if the CU is authorised — confirm live. Cap follows the scheme (£120,000 from 1 Dec 2025).
Who holds the money: Beacon Credit Union Ltd
- FCA / PRA (credit union)Beacon Credit Union Ltd, trading as Beacon Savings & Loans. Ex Halton Credit Union · United Kingdom
Fees
- Monthly
- £2 entrance + £1 minimum share — then CU tariff
- FX markup
- Not a travel product
- ATM
- Not the job
- Interest
- CU savings and loan rates — not a current-account APR war
Features
- –IBAN
- –Fee-free core
- –Multi-currency
- –Apple Pay
- –Google Pay
- –Virtual card
- –Physical card
- –Metal card
- –Crypto
- –Stocks
- –Business
- –Kids
- –Halal
- Credit-union savings and loans
- Cheshire / WA common bond
- Runcorn and Widnes branches
- App (Halton CU package)
- FSCS path if authorised
Score
- Safety25%
- 7.0
- Fees20%
- 7.4
- Features15%
- 5.2
- App15%
- 6.0
- Global15%
- 2.4
- Support10%
- 7.2
Change log
Full logLicence
Cheshire credit union, not Beacon Bank US
Ex Halton CU. Common bond Cheshire / WA. FSCS path if authorised. £2 entrance.
Available in
Straight answers
FAQ
01Is Beacon a bank?
Beacon is not a licensed deposit-taker in the classic sense. Money, if any, sits with Beacon Credit Union Ltd.
02How is money protected?
FSCS on eligible credit-union deposits if the CU is authorised — confirm live. Cap follows the scheme (£120,000 from 1 Dec 2025).
03Where is Beacon available?
We list 1 market on NeoBankDB. Residency and onboarding rules still sit with Beacon.
04Card and wallets?
Beacon has no card listed on this file.
05Can I open Beacon remotely?
Residency and KYC are gated. An App Store listing is not proof you can onboard from your country.
Ratings and reviews
No published user reviews yet. The NeoBankDB score still comes from licence, fees, and the product — not from an empty star average.
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