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Pressure for change: why Britain's online financial marketing regulations need urgent attention

FSA Whitepaper: Executive Summary

In the 13 years since the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was created, the financial services marketplace has been subject to some fundamental and far-reaching changes.

The internet was in its infancy when the organisation founded to regulate the finance sector first opened its doors, but in little more than a decade it has revolutionised the way that consumers interact with the commercial world. Today almost a quarter of all UK-based marketing spend is now online, but despite this there are still absolutely no specific guidelines for how financial marketers should engage in online marketing.

As this paper demonstrates, there is growing cause for concern amongst marketers that while the internet created a unique set of conditions, the FSA yet to take action or provide specific guidelines for marketers using the channel.

Digital advertising formats make compliance with the standards set out for traditional media extremely difficult, and in a culture where companies selling financial products must be extremely vigilant against falling foul of legislation, marketers find their ability to engage with the burgeoning marketplace restricted. The problem, however, does not stop there.

As a recent bigmouthmedia survey revealed, consumers are less than content with the way financial services are sold to them online. They demonstrate widespread mistrust of the claims made of a raft of available products and a clear preference for terms and conditions written in plain English they can understand.

It is now a matter of some urgency that the FSA finally addresses one of the most neglected issues of its time and produces a set of guidelines designed to help financial services market their services both ethically and effectively. At a time when restoring the industry's position in the public esteem remains of critical importance, getting the message right online will be a significant step forward.

Chris Cathcart
Senior Finance Strategist, bigmouthmedia.

Click here to download a PDF of the whitepaper in full.

This article was first published on 26 August 2010 and does not necessarily match current events or the current opinions and views of bigmouthmedia ltd.