UK financial services firms are struggling to comply with FCA requirements to record relevant mobile phone conversations, according to a report from analyst Ovum.
Research from call compliance firm TeleWare, who sponsored the paper, estimates that as many as 45,000 mobile devices are at risk of non- compliance. This is higher than the 25,000 often cited by the industry.
In 2012, TeleWare found that almost half of UK organisations didn't have a fully compliant solution in place. This new report has found that two years down the line, non-compliance is still an issue and the majority of impacted businesses continue to operate without effective measures in place.
A large number of organisations rely on imposing policies to prevent use of mobile devices for conversations which would fall under the regulations but this approach is largely ineffectual, Ovum argues.
Steve Haworth, chief executive of TeleWare said: "This approach may be technically compliant, but is short-termist at best and unworkable at scale."
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The exact scope of the regulation – including which companies are implicated and which of their operations and activities on mobile devices need to be recorded - has caused much confusion, despite the regulation coming into force in 2011.
"Some firms still believe they are altogether exempt and as a result are making no effort to comply. What is clear, however, is that all asset classes and
instruments are included in the regulation, as are all sizes of buy- and sell-side firms. As for what needs to be recorded, the original wording states that 'any relevant conversation' should be recorded and stored, which is an extensive and highly inclusive statement", added Rik Turner, senior analyst Ovum.
The white paper is entitled "Mobile Call Recording in the Financial Markets: Assessing the Impact and Opportunities Created by Changing International Regulation". A copy of the paper can be downloaded from: www.telewarefinance.com