You are getting a store card or choosing an installment plan at an online purchase. The screen shows a familiar name, but the financial contract may be concluded with another company. It is that company you need to find in the documents to understand the terms of the service, protection of money, and complaint procedure in case of problems.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) on November 9 published an information sheet about financial products under another brand. This is an explanation for consumers, not new mandatory rules for clients.
This model is called white labelling: one company offers a product under its own name, while the financial service is provided by its partner. This may apply to cards, accounts, electronic money, or installment plans. The model expands the choice of services; the mere involvement of two companies does not indicate fraud.
The first thing EBA advises to find out is who actually provides the service and with whom you are concluding the contract. Look for the wording “service provided by” or “issued by”. The application name may not match the name of the party to the financial contract.
The licence or registration status of the provider should be checked in the register of the relevant regulator. If you live in one EU country while the provider is licensed in another, find in the terms the country of licensing and the name of the supervisory authority. The language of the application and the familiar brand by themselves do not show this.
The next question is what exactly you are taking out and how much it costs. For example, paying in installments may turn out to be a loan. You need to check the total cost, interest, additional fees, and the contract duration.
If a card is blocked, a payment does not go through, or a dispute arises about a fee, it is important to understand which company handles complaints about this service. Find in the contract, on the website, or in the application the complaint procedure and the contacts of the responsible company. When closing the product, in some cases it is necessary to notify both the brand owner and the actual service provider.
For savings there is another important difference: a bank deposit and an electronic wallet balance may look similar in the application, but the mechanisms for protecting money are different.
The basic guarantee of bank deposits in the EU in case the bank is unable to repay money is 100,000 euros per depositor in one bank. If several brands operate under one banking licence, the client's deposits in that bank are aggregated for calculating the limit. Two different service names by themselves do not provide two separate guarantees.
For example, if a person has 60,000 euros of ordinary protected deposits under two brands of one bank, the total amount is 120,000 euros, while the basic coverage is 100,000. This is a calculated example of the limit's application, not a description of specific services.
Payment institutions and electronic money institutions are subject to rules for safeguarding client funds, including their segregation. As the Central Bank of Ireland explains, this is a different mechanism from the bank deposit guarantee. Therefore, before placing money it is important to clarify the status of the provider and the applicable protection scheme.
EBA also recommends checking to whom personal data are disclosed. Distinguishing between the brand owner and the service provider is also important in case of unexpected contact: the regulator notes the risk of fraudsters posing as employees of the companies involved.
Based on: EBA’s November 9 release, consumer information sheet, 2025 EBA Report, Central Bank of Ireland, EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive.
