About your promotion
Tell us about the promotion so we can tailor the compliance checks to the correct FCA regime.
This tool focuses on retail customer promotions, including consumer credit (CONC) requirements.
Why This Tool Exists
The FCA's financial promotions regime is one of the most actively enforced areas of regulation. Since the financial promotions gateway launched in February 2024, the FCA has been particularly focused on firms approving promotions without adequate oversight. A single non-compliant promotion — especially on social media — can trigger enforcement action, consumer harm, and reputational damage. This tool checks your promotions against FCA requirements before they go live.
Who This Tool Is For
Marketing teams
Checking promotional material against FCA fair, clear, and not misleading requirements before publication
Compliance officers
Approving financial promotions with documented evidence of regulatory review
Social media managers
Ensuring social media posts meet FCA character-limited promotion requirements
s21 approver firms
Managing the approval process for unauthorised firms' promotions under the financial promotions gateway
How to Use This Tool
Select the promotion type
Choose the channel (website, social media, email, print) and product type to receive channel-specific compliance requirements.
Check content requirements
Review your promotion against mandatory content elements including risk warnings, regulatory status disclosures, and fair balance requirements.
Generate compliance record
Create a documented approval record with the compliance checks performed, reviewer details, and approval date for your promotions log.
Common Mistakes This Tool Prevents
Publishing social media promotions without required risk warnings due to character limits
How this tool helps: Provides compliant risk warning formats specifically designed for character-limited social media channels
Not maintaining a promotions log with approval records and version history
How this tool helps: Generates structured approval records ready for your promotions register
Using testimonials or past performance without required disclaimers
How this tool helps: Flags when testimonial or performance claims require specific FCA disclaimers
Failing to review and withdraw stale promotions that are no longer accurate
How this tool helps: Prompts periodic review dates and flags promotions that may need updating
Related Guidance
Need Financial Promotions Compliance?
We can review your existing promotions, design approval processes, train your marketing team, and provide ongoing promotions compliance monitoring — ensuring every communication meets FCA standards.
About the Financial Promotions Quick Guidance Tool
Financial promotions are one of the most common sources of FCA enforcement action. Getting it wrong can result in significant fines, reputational damage, and regulatory intervention.
This tool provides media-neutral pre-clearance guidance across all channels and product types, helping you ensure compliance before publication. It covers:
- Regime-specific requirements: CONC (credit), COBS (investments), ICOBS (insurance), MCOB (mortgages)
- Generic rules: Clear, fair, not misleading (PRIN 7 and Consumer Duty)
- Channel-specific guidance: Social media character limits, font sizes for print, display times for TV
- Approval requirements: Internal sign-off and FCA-authorised approver checks
Remember: This tool provides guidance to support your compliance process, but does not replace formal compliance approval. All financial promotions should be reviewed and approved by a competent compliance officer before publication.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- • Risk warnings buried in small print or behind click-throughs
- • Overemphasizing potential returns without balancing with risks
- • Social media posts that don't include warnings due to character limits
- • Unauthorised firms promoting to retail customers without FCA-authorised approval
- • Misleading comparison rates or cherry-picked performance periods
Need Financial Promotion Review?
Our team can review your financial promotions, provide approval for unauthorised firms, and implement robust approval processes.
Book Free Consultation →