Whilst most will be counting down to the festive holidays, compliance officers are likely to have a different date circled in their diaries as the latest statutory legislation to affect the sector comes into force on 3 January 2018, say experts at business call recording services provider Daisy Group.
From that date, all businesses regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be legally required to provide stored recordings of all calls.
Alex Mawson, Product Director of Voice Networks at Daisy Group, says: “Those businesses regulated by the FCA will no doubt have some form of call recording implemented already, but what MiFID II brings is a whole new level of mandatory transparency expanding the remit to mobile calls and text messages on both company-provided and personal devices. And with the stakes being so high, this is not something that businesses can assume is already within their capabilities.”
As well as the functionality to record communications via landlines and mobile phones, those affected must consider how and where recordings are stored, and how easy they will be to access.
Mawson adds: “The recordings, regardless of whether they are trader to customer or trader to trader, will contain sensitive information, so security must be high on the agenda. The digital file size of the recordings must also be carefully considered.
“Although MiFID II states that it is only those conversations that could lead to a transaction or trade that must be recorded, can you really risk not recording all communications? That could mean enormous data storage capacity is required.”
Within the new MiFID II guidelines, retrieval is just as important as storage. So another important aspect to be considered is how recordings can be easily identified.
“When did the communication take place, where, between whom and who initiated the contact?” says Mawson.
“All the finer details surrounding the recorded communications must also be logged. The transparency required by the legislation is designed to uphold the integrity of all those involved in financial transactions; protecting both parties – the customer and the business.
“If that isn’t a strong enough reason to ensure that you’re compliant, the consequence of not being covered is a hefty fine, reputational damage and a lot of unwanted attention.”