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FinTech Trends Newsletter Week 30th October – 3rd November 2017
How voice compliance can ensure productivity is not compromised
The financial services sector is one of the most heavily regulated industries due to the sheer volume of transactions. Customers trust financial firms with their details, so to protect the highly-sensitive information organisations must adhere to security and compliance standards. However, this can be challenging for employees as the processes can interfere with day-to-day operations. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) will come into effect on
3rd January 2018 and is yet another regulation financial firms will have to prepare for. The goal of MiFID II is to make European financial markets more resilient, transparent and investor-friendly.
To achieve this, organisations must keep records of all services, activities and transactions undertaken for a minimum of 5 years for the client and 7 years for the regulators, including all telephone calls, text messages, instant messages and social media interactions. It is also essential that all the records are discoverable, especially when conducted on a mobile device. Due to the scope and complexity of the regulation, firms are concerned that it will put a strain on productivity because of the new processes that are required in order to be compliant. Organisations are also aware that the project will require additional resources. As well as relying heavily on expert knowledge, it doesn’t just concern the legal team but also operations and IT. In addition, the IT team needs to ensure that they are adequately skilled to coordinate and manage the project, while also being mindful that the MiFID II implementation can run alongside other projects.
MiFID II will also command traders to adhere to the transparency and reporting aspect of the regulation. Alongside this, data collection and discovery is also must. However, putting it all into practice can go beyond the capacity of many firms. In order to adhere to the regulation, organisations should embrace voice compliance technology that will allow them to capture conversation, ultimately protecting the organisation from hefty fines. A communication capturing solution can also remove the need to take detailed notes. This will not only save a lot of paperwork, but will eliminate uncertainty over who said, and agreed to what, allowing traders to concentrate on what they do best – closing deals, rather than worrying about whether they’re recording conversations accurately.
The recording function of a voice compliance tool provides a perfect balance between the customer experience and compliance. If or when an employee leaves an organisation, the handover process will be seamless – allowing the new recruit to simply listen to the most up-to-date audio records and pick up from their predecessor, eradicating any potential concerns regarding previous deals or verbal agreements the customer may have had. In addition to improving the customer experience, voice compliance platforms offer the opportunity to improve the quality of service employees provide their clients. Analysis of telephone conversations allow the team to improve the way they interact with their clients. Internally, line managers can use the recordings during training and development sessions; coaching team members on best practices, or on how they can upsell on other services within the business.
According to a recent survey, 90% of buy-side firms are at risk of non-compliance by the MiFID II deadline. If firms proactively prepare for MiFID II early, it will allow employees, IT team’s and their Managed Service Providers, like Storm IT Financial to test the technology first. Preparing early not only ensures the organisation is compliant before the deadline, but it prevents any potential disturbances to productivity when MiFID II does come into effect.
Organisations should also recognise that being MiFID II ready b efore the 3 January 2018 deadline provides a competitive edge as it highlights proactivity and demonstrates that the firm is leading the way in best practice. While MiFID II will require changes within the business, it should not be seen simply as an additional cost. Firms should recognise the opportunities it offers, enabling increased resilience productivity and efficiency, and more importantly increased protection of the security of the business and it’s data.
For help & guidance to prepare & advise Hedge Fund, Wealth Management, Asset Management, Private Equity & Alternative Investment firms on IT, MiFID II Call Recording Compliant Solutions, data storage & management, disaster recovery, back up, cybersecurity, managed solutions, FCA, MiFID II & GDPR regulatory & compliance technology, please contact Storm IT Financial for more information.
Storm IT Financial FinTech News & Trends picks: Week 30th October – 3rd November 2017
Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Research take giant step towards eliminating network downtime
Cloud networks are constantly growing and evolving……:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/eliminating-network-downtime/
What the City needs to know about Mifid II:
The landmark legislation coming into force next year:
http://www.cityam.com/274861/city-needs-know-mifid-ii-landmark-legislation-coming-into
Cloud computing drives massive growth for big U.S. tech firms
Big 4 Tech Co’s all posted stellar quarterly earnings showing the strength of the shift away from company-owned data centers & to the cloud:
What corporate treasurers need to know about MiFID II
Corporate treasurers should not assume that MiFID II regulations won’t impact them. What do they need to know about the EU directive?:
New platform offers wealth managers full back office suite
Tech firm Hubwise launches a white-labelled investment platform designed to simplify & reduce the risks of running discretionary money:
European General Data Protection Regulation: GDPR Compliance forU.S. Business
A GDPR compliance strategy must begin with an understanding of the exceedingly broad EU definition of Personal Data:
You Don’t Know What GDPR Is, And That’s A Growing Problem For You in 2018
Many US companies have never even heard of GDPR & are not preparing for it. That will become a painful mistake when it’s enforceable…:
Microsoft beats profit estimates on gains from cloud services
Microsoft reported better quarterly profit as demand for its cloud computing services from companies rose:
GDPR and Reputation Loss Bother Businesses
Firms are not seeing the requirements of GDPR as seri- ous, and continue to be confused by what is required:
Recent data security breaches – what if the GDPRapplied?
How GDPR will affect things when it comes into force on 25 May 2018?:
Banks cautiously optimistic about impact of tech
BNY Mellon Survey: ‘Banks are “cautiously optimistic” that emerging tech will have a significant impact’..:
Cloud computing drives growth for major US tech firms; Microsoft’s Azure business nearly doubles
Tech Co’s are all putting their chips on the cloud com- puting business, and it is booming:
