Financial services websites marketing and compliance

Providing financial services has high risks: there are high compliance costs and restrictions on new products and services because of changing and uncertain regulatory requirements. Providing financial services over the internet brings additional risks. The law is still not “technology neutral”: some products will be treated differently if they are electronic rather than paper-based.

Failure to comply could have catastrophic consequences: fines, penalties and loss of reputation.

To be successful a financial services website needs inbuilt compliance systems as well as good technology, good design and good products. Compliance systems will help when designing new products or services for a financial services website.

Our 60 page report focusses on processes to assist financial service providers in managing the risks related to websites in an environment of rapidly changing technology. The section on risk management is intended to assist you to identify, quantify and, where possible, reduce related technology risks. See the index (pdf)

The report concludes with 17 Guidelines for financial services websites illustrated by screenshots.

This report has important information for anyone who is responsible for the design or content of a financial services website or involved in compliance of a financial services provider.

We discussed our findings on a web seminar on 14 March 2006.

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