Katie Mousley, Senior Marketing Manager at MBA Group, explores how the consumer duty can provide a framework for better communications.
In the financial services world, few words carry as much weight and as much baggage as compliance. Often it’s been seen as the force that slows innovation, restricts creativity, and gets in the way of customer engagement.
But that narrative is outdated. Since the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty came into effect, the conversation has shifted. The regulation moved the industry beyond a punitive approach to instilling a positive requirement to ensure good outcomes. It demands that firms actively support customer understanding, meet diverse needs, and communicate in ways that are genuinely useful. Far from getting in the way of connection, compliance when done right is becoming one of the most powerful tools for building trust.
Recent research shows only 36% of UK consumers trust the financial services industry to act in their best interests (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2024). At the same time, four in five consumers say they find financial communications confusing, impersonal, or irrelevant.
So where does regulation come in?
Consumer Duty has raised the bar. Firms are now expected to demonstrate that their communications are not only fair and clear but truly comprehensible, especially to vulnerable customers and those with lower levels of financial literacy. The FCA’s own research highlights that nearly 50% of UK adults show one or more characteristics of vulnerability, and that the average reading age in the UK is just 9 to 12 years old.
What this means is that generic, one-size-fits-all messaging no longer cuts it.
Every generation engages differently. Gen Z expects mobile-first content with visual summaries and conversational tone. Baby boomers often prefer printed, formal communications that signal trust through structure. If you’re sending the same email to all of them, you’re not just missing the mark—you’re falling short of compliance.
Instead of treating regulation as the last hurdle in the comms process, leading brands are using consumer duty as a design prompt to create messaging that’s clearer, more empathetic, and tailored to real human needs. Some approaches include message scoring tools that assess communications for clarity and relevance, as well as mapping journeys across age segments to understand when, where, and how different customers want to be reached.
It’s also about brand voice. The FCA’s guidance doesn’t just call for plain English, but for a tone of voice that feels fair and inclusive. That means compliance-led messaging should be warm and empathetic, rather than transactional.
Organisations are now looking forward and adopting ways to embed compliance into the DNA of their brand voice. They’re training copywriters and compliance teams to collaborate from the start so that messages from push notifications to pension statements feel like they’ve come from the same trusted voice.
Technology plays a key role here too. AI and predictive analytics can help tailor content based on behaviour and needs. Tools like personalised videos or geo-targeted content are helping firms make communications more timely, more helpful, and more human. Legal & General saw engagement jump to 98% after introducing personalised explainer videos at key pension moments.
Because at the heart of the FCA’s expectations is a simple question: Is your communication helping or hindering the customer? When brands start designing with that question in mind, the results speak for themselves.
If you’re ready to explore how compliance can drive better connection, don’t miss our on-demand Masterclass: “Is Compliance the Enemy of Connection?”
In under 20 minutes, you’ll discover how brands across financial services are rethinking regulation as a strategic asset—and how you can too.
