Free Professional Tool • FCA FG21/1 Aligned

Vulnerability Assessment Tool

Professional vulnerability assessment tool based on FCA guidance for the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. Our secure, web-based platform helps you identify and support vulnerable customers in line with Consumer Duty requirements.

Vulnerability Support Checker

Proportionate controls and adjustments for customers in vulnerable circumstances

Aligned with FG21/1 (Vulnerability Guidance) and PRIN 2A (Consumer Duty)

Select all that apply (can select multiple)

The FCA's four drivers of vulnerability: Health, Life Events, Resilience, and Capability. These can intersect and change over time. Firms must identify, record, and respond appropriately.

Professional Vulnerability Assessment

Comprehensive tool for identifying and supporting vulnerable customers

FCA Aligned Framework

13-question assessment aligned with official FCA guidance FG21/1

Consumer Duty Ready

Supports compliance with Consumer Duty vulnerable customer requirements

Secure & Private

Multi-tenant architecture with organization-level data isolation

Analytics & Reporting

Built-in analytics and reporting capabilities for your assessments

How the Assessment Works

Structured framework for identifying vulnerable customers

13-Question Framework

Structured questionnaire covering all FCA vulnerability indicators

  • Health conditions and disabilities
  • Life events and circumstances
  • Resilience factors
  • Capability assessments

Analysis & Results

Comprehensive analysis of vulnerability factors

  • Vulnerability scoring
  • Risk categorization
  • Support recommendations
  • Action tracking

Secure Storage

Safe, isolated data storage for your organization

  • Organization-level isolation
  • Secure data encryption
  • Access controls
  • Audit trails

Based on FCA Guidance FG21/1

Our tool implements the FCA's official framework for identifying and supporting vulnerable customers

Important: This tool provides guidance based on FCA publications and is not a substitute for professional judgement

Identifies vulnerability indicators
Supports fair treatment obligations
Meets Consumer Duty requirements
Provides evidence of compliance
Free to use
Web-based accessibility

Free Professional Tool

Access our vulnerability assessment platform at no charge

Ready to Get Started?

Launch the vulnerability assessment tool or contact us for implementation support

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four drivers of customer vulnerability?

The FCA's guidance FG21/1 identifies four drivers: health (conditions affecting day-to-day activities), life events (bereavement, job loss, relationship breakdown), resilience (low ability to withstand financial or emotional shocks), and capability (low knowledge, confidence, or digital skills). Any customer can become vulnerable at any time.

How should firms support vulnerable customers?

Firms should understand the needs of their target market, ensure staff can recognise and respond to vulnerability, offer practical adjustments, and monitor outcomes to check vulnerable customers get results as good as other customers - a core expectation under both FG21/1 and Consumer Duty.

What is FG21/1?

FG21/1 is the FCA's finalised guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. It sets out what firms should do to understand vulnerability, embed it in culture and processes, and evidence that vulnerable customers experience outcomes as good as everyone else.

Why This Tool Exists

The FCA's Financial Lives Survey found that 47% of UK adults show characteristics of vulnerability. Under the Consumer Duty, firms must demonstrate they are delivering good outcomes for vulnerable customers — not just identifying them. Most firms have vulnerability policies that exist on paper but fail in practice: frontline staff lack training, identification is ad hoc, and there is no MI to show outcomes are actually improving. This tool provides a structured vulnerability assessment framework.

Who This Tool Is For

Frontline staff

Using a structured framework to identify and record customer vulnerability indicators

Compliance officers

Assessing the firm's vulnerability framework against FG21/1 and Consumer Duty requirements

Training managers

Identifying gaps in staff vulnerability awareness and building targeted training programmes

Board members

Understanding vulnerability MI and evidence requirements for board reporting

How to Use This Tool

1

Assess against the four drivers

Evaluate your framework against the FCA's four vulnerability drivers: health, life events, resilience, and capability.

2

Check your processes

Review how your firm identifies, records, acts on, and monitors vulnerability across the customer journey.

3

Review gaps and actions

Receive prioritised recommendations covering policy, training, systems, MI, and board reporting requirements.

Common Mistakes This Tool Prevents

Treating vulnerability as a binary flag rather than a spectrum that changes over time

How this tool helps: Uses the FCA's four-driver model to assess vulnerability as a nuanced, dynamic characteristic

Relying on customers to self-identify as vulnerable

How this tool helps: Provides proactive identification frameworks that don't depend on customer disclosure

Identifying vulnerability but not adjusting the service or product accordingly

How this tool helps: Links identification to specific actions and adjustments required for each vulnerability type

Not tracking outcomes for vulnerable customers separately from the general population

How this tool helps: Generates MI requirements specifically for vulnerable customer outcome monitoring

Need Vulnerability Framework Support?

We can design your vulnerability policy, train frontline staff, implement recording systems, build MI dashboards, and prepare board-level vulnerability reporting — all aligned with FG21/1 and the Consumer Duty.

Need Help with Vulnerable Customer Compliance?

Our regulatory experts can help you implement comprehensive vulnerable customer frameworks

📞 Phone: 0330 133 0811

📧 Email: contact@memaconsultants.com