 An account which enjoys tax free status, usually deposit accounts with £85,000 Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection (but client money with £50,000 protection or unprotected money is also permitted; the providers are required to make the protection clear).These are normally offered by banks and building societies but investment firms can also offer them.It is mandatory that money held in a cash ISA be made available on request within 15 days but it is permitted to have a loss-of-interest penalty for this, and this is how term deposits are typically made available.