Five Questions to Ask Any Savings App (Including Vault)

The number of savings products in the UAE is growing. So is the number of ways to evaluate them.

Here are five questions worth asking before you deposit — and our honest answers for Vault.

1. Who actually holds my money?

This is the first question. When you deposit into most savings accounts, the institution takes legal possession of your funds. You have a claim against them, not direct ownership of the money. If they fail, you are an unsecured creditor.

Vault's answer: Your money goes into lending markets directly — not into a Vault account. We route and manage the deployment, but Vault never takes possession of your principal. That means we can't misuse your funds and our operational failure does not make your balance disappear. You have a right to withdraw at all times.

2. What type of borrowers receive the money?

If a savings product offers returns, someone somewhere is borrowing at a higher rate to produce them. The question is who.

Consumer peer-to-peer lending, high-risk debt, promotional bonuses funded by the company — these are different risk profiles. Know which one you're looking at.

Vault's answer: Your balance goes into over-collateralised lending markets — meaning borrowers must pledge more value than they borrow before accessing capital. The primary market manages more than $2 billion in institutional capital and uses strict collateral requirements. Borrowers are primarily traders and institutions seeking leverage, not consumers seeking personal loans.

3. Is the rate real — or a promotion?

In the UAE, the difference is significant. FAB's iSave 4% is a promotion running through June 30, 2026 on new funds only — standard FAB savings revert to ~2.5%. Wio Bank's 6% requires salary routing. Mashreq NEO PLUS's 6.25% has the same requirement; their non-salary tier pays 5% AED but only if you keep AED 50,000 on deposit and make no more than two withdrawals per month.

A promotional rate is a marketing tool. A real rate fluctuates with actual market demand.

Vault's answer: ~5.4% is the current market rate from fees paid by borrowers. It is variable — it will rise when borrower demand increases and fall when it decreases. There is no promotional period and no conditions. It is not a number we chose for marketing. It is the rate the market is producing right now.

4. Is the company regulated?

This is where many new fintech products get uncomfortable. "Regulated" can mean many things: registered, licensed, authorised, or simply incorporated in a jurisdiction that sounds credible.

Ask specifically: are you licensed to take deposits or manage savings products? If not, what is your regulatory status and timeline?

Vault's answer: Prometheus Labs is pursuing FSRA authorisation under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) framework. We are not yet licensed. We say this publicly. We believe transparency about where we are in the regulatory process is more trustworthy than vague credentialising. We will update this when we hold our ADGM licence.

5. What happens when I want my money back?

Lock-up periods, notice requirements, penalties for early withdrawal — these are common in higher-rate products. A 12-month fixed deposit offering 4% means your money is inaccessible for 12 months. A "notice account" may require 30–90 days before withdrawal.

Vault's answer: Withdraw your full balance plus earnings within 24 hours. No lock-ups, no notice periods, no penalties. This is not a promotional feature — it is how the underlying lending markets work. Liquidity in over-collateralised markets means withdrawal requests can be settled without notice.

Why we publish this

We are building a product that asks people to trust us with their savings. Trust starts with giving people the information they need to make a good decision — even if that information reveals our limitations.

We are not yet regulated. The rate is variable, not guaranteed. There are risks you should understand before depositing.

We would rather have fewer informed users than more users who don't understand what they signed up for.

If you've read this and Vault sounds right for you, join the waitlist at vlt.money.

Vault is a product of Prometheus Labs. Earnings are fees paid by borrowers — not guaranteed returns. Rates vary with market conditions. Prometheus Labs is pursuing FSRA authorisation under ADGM.