The rules your financial promotions have to follow
We've written plain-English guides to the promotion rules in the UK, Cyprus and the UAE. Each one quotes the rules themselves and links to the regulator's text, so you can check every point for yourself. We re-check each guide against its sources and show you the date we last did.
New to the rules? Start here
Financial promotions: the UK rules explained
What counts as a financial promotion in the UK, who may communicate one, the rules every promotion must meet and what happens when one breaks them.
Fair, clear and not misleading: what the FCA rule means, with examples
What fair, clear and not misleading means in COBS, CONC, BCOBS, ICOBS and MCOB, how the Consumer Duty raises the bar, and 12 claims that fail it, with fixes.
Financial promotions checklist: 20 checks before a UK promotion goes out
A financial promotions checklist: 20 checks before a UK promotion goes out, from who may communicate it to risk warnings, balance, audience and records.
Social media, influencers and affiliates
FCA guidance on financial promotions on social media: FG24/1 explained
FCA guidance on social media promotions (FG24/1): standalone compliance, risk warnings in the post not the caption, Stories, video and character limits.
Finfluencer rules in the UK: what influencers and firms must do
Finfluencer rules in the UK: when an influencer's post is a financial promotion, why it needs approval, what firms must do and what the FCA has done.
Affiliate marketing compliance for financial services: what firms must do
Affiliate marketing compliance for financial firms: who is liable for affiliates' posts, the UK and EU rules for introducers, and a framework to monitor them.
Approving promotions and the exemptions
Financial promotions approval process: a template built on FCA rules
A template for a financial promotions approval process: the stages, roles, records, re-approval triggers and board reporting, grounded in the FCA rules.
Section 21 approval and the FCA financial promotions gateway
Section 21 approval explained: who may approve financial promotions, the FCA gateway since February 2024, approvers' duties and the main exemptions.
Financial Promotion Order 2005 exemptions, article by article
How the Financial Promotion Order 2005 exemptions work: overseas recipients, investment professionals, high net worth and sophisticated investors, and crypto.
Rules for CFDs, crypto and credit
CFD risk warning wording: the FCA's exact text
The exact CFD risk warnings the FCA prescribes for websites, social posts and short ads, how to calculate the percentage and where the warning must sit.
Crypto promotion rules in the UK: the risk warning, cooling-off and what changes in 2027
Crypto promotion rules in the UK: who can promote cryptoassets, the FCA risk warning, the incentive ban, the 24-hour cooling-off and what changes in 2027.
Consumer credit and buy now pay later promotion rules in the UK
Consumer credit and BNPL promotion rules under CONC 3: representative examples, restricted wording, the payday loan warning, brokers and the 2026 BNPL regime.
Enforcement and FCA data
FCA financial promotions data: 2024 figures and the trend since 2021
FCA financial promotions data from 2021 to 2024: promotions amended or withdrawn, alerts on unauthorised firms, the 2024 breakdown and what exists for 2025.
FCA fines and enforcement for misleading financial promotions
How the FCA acts on misleading financial promotions: requests to amend, section 137S bans, restrictions, fines and prosecutions, with the published cases.
Promoting in Cyprus or the UAE
Financial promotion rules in the UAE: CBUAE, CMA, DFSA, FSRA (ADGM) and VARA
Who regulates financial promotions onshore in the UAE, in DIFC, in ADGM and for virtual assets, and what each regulator's rules require, with every rule cited.
CySEC marketing rules for CFD firms: risk warnings, bonuses and affiliates
The CFD risk warnings CySEC requires, how to calculate the percentage, the bonus ban, affiliate rules and the EU marketing rules for Cyprus investment firms.
See which of these rules apply to your own promotions
Bring an advert, post, video or web page to a demo. Connor checks it against the rules for each market it runs in and shows you every problem, with the rule behind it and the fix. Your approver makes the decision.
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