Finfluencer rules in the UK: what influencers and firms must do
A finfluencer's post that invites people to invest, made in the course of business, is a financial promotion. Without an authorised firm's approval or an exemption, it's a crime.
In short
- Communicating an unapproved financial promotion in the course of business, without being authorised and without an exemption, is a criminal offence: up to two years' imprisonment, a fine or both, on indictment.
- Under the FCA's guidance, a post can be caught without any commercial relationship with a firm, whatever the influencer's follower count.
- Firms should make sure the influencers they use understand the product, know the rules and are not promoting illegally, and should consider how to monitor their posts.
- Each post must comply on its own. Risks should not sit only in a caption, and information required to be prominent should, where possible, be visible without clicking “see more”.
- Paid posts must also be obviously identifiable as advertising under the CAP Code.
- In February 2026, seven influencers were sentenced after pleading guilty to issuing unauthorised financial promotions.
When a post becomes a financial promotion
The test is the same for a TikTok video as for a newspaper advert. Section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 prohibits anyone, “in the course of business”, from communicating “an invitation or inducement to (a) engage in investment activity”, unless they are authorised or the content has been approved by an authorised firm (section 21(2)).
The FCA's finalised guidance on social media, FG24/1, applies that test to influencers. It is guidance: it “does not create new obligations for firms” (paragraph 1.12). But it is the FCA's stated view of how the law applies, and the points below come from it.
- Is it in the course of business?Almost always, for an influencer. The FCA reads the phrase as capturing “any level of commerciality”: being paid by a firm, hoping for a future deal or being paid by the platform for views (paragraph 4.18). Communications may be caught “even when an influencer does not have a commercial relationship with a firm” (paragraph 1.8).
- Does it invite or induce people to invest?“Any type of communication is capable of being a financial promotion”, including memes and posts in invitation-only Telegram groups (paragraphs 2.37 and 4.17). Scope “is not based on the size of an influencer's following” (paragraph 4.5).
- Is the influencer authorised, or the exact content approved?If neither, and no exemption applies, posting it is a criminal offence.
Why unapproved posts can be a crime
Unauthorised persons, such as influencers, who promote financial products or services that are subject to regulation without the approval of an FCA authorised person may be committing a criminal offence.
Under section 25 of the Act, breaching section 21 is an offence punishable on indictment by up to two years' imprisonment, a fine or both. It is a defence to show a reasonable belief that the content was prepared by an authorised person, or approved by one in accordance with section 21(2A), or that all reasonable precautions and due diligence were taken.
The route to a lawful post is approval by an authorised firm. Since 7 February 2024, the approving firm has needed the FCA's permission to approve for unauthorised persons. It must also confirm the promotion complies before approving it, monitor it while it runs and require a written attestation of no material change at least every three months (COBS 4.10.2R). See section 21 approval and the gateway.
What firms must do about their influencers
Firms that use affiliates, such as influencers, to communicate financial promotions on social media should take appropriate steps to ensure any such influencer understands the product or service they are promoting and is aware of relevant regulatory requirements. This includes taking appropriate steps to ensure that any influencers they use are not illegally communicating financial promotions.
The FCA also says firms “should consider how they can monitor the marketing actions of their affiliate partners … and how many partnerships the firm can viably maintain before adequate monitoring is no longer possible” (paragraph 3.22).
Approvers “should consider the influencer's audience demographics and whether they are likely to have an audience with characteristics of vulnerability” (paragraph 4.13). The FCA adds: “We've seen firms using influencers that may not be appropriate for the promotion of complex products such as CFDs” (paragraph 4.15).
What a compliant post looks like
It stands alone. “We expect financial promotions to be standalone compliant. This means that each communication must comply with our rules when considered individually” (paragraph 2.20). For multi-frame formats such as Instagram Stories, the FCA considers “the promotion as a whole” and takes a proportionate view based on the number of frames and where risk information appears (paragraph 2.22).
Risks are as visible as benefits. The FCA has “seen promotions that include all the benefits within video or image content, while risks are only included in the accompanying caption outside of the main body of the promotion. This approach does not give information about risks sufficient prominence” (paragraph 2.27). Information that is required to be prominent should, where possible, be displayed “without needing click-through or any other optional action to view it” (paragraph 2.29), so not behind “see more”.
It is labelled as an ad. Under the CAP Code, “Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such” (CAP 2.1) and “must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not apparent from the context” (CAP 2.3). FG24/1 makes the same point: content from an influencer who is paid or otherwise connected to a brand “will need to be obviously identifiable as advertising” (paragraph 4.7). The ASA's influencers' guide explains how to label it.
It carries the right warning for the product. CFDs, cryptoassets and other high-risk investments have prescribed wording. See CFD risk warning wording and crypto promotion rules.
Recommendations follow the market abuse rules. Influencers who make investment recommendations, such as “buy this share”, are also subject to the market abuse rules on presenting recommendations objectively and disclosing conflicts (paragraph 4.8).
What the FCA has done
- 20 finfluencers interviewed under cautionThe FCA also issued 38 alerts against social media accounts “which may contain unlawful promotions”.
- International week of action, nine regulatorsIn the UK: three arrests, criminal proceedings authorised against three individuals, seven cease and desist letters and 50 warning alerts, expected to lead to over 650 takedown requests.
- Seven influencers sentencedAt Southwark Crown Court, after each pleaded guilty to one count of issuing unauthorised financial promotions. The FCA notes that reporting restrictions are in place.
- Second international week of action, 17 regulatorsA guilty plea from a reality-television personality, and criminal proceedings against two more individuals.
The February 2026 penalties were fines of between £600 and £3,750, a conditional discharge and an absolute discharge, plus costs (FCA, 20 February 2026). In the April 2026 week of action, the FCA also looked at adverts on Meta's platforms:
- illegal financial adverts identified on Meta's platforms
- 1,267
- UK accounts they reached, at a minimum
- 2,338,372
A checklist for firms using influencers
- Is the post an invitation or inducement to invest? If yes, it is a promotion.
- Is the influencer authorised? If not, has an authorised firm with the FCA's permission approved this exact content?
- Does the post comply on its own, with risks shown as prominently as benefits and not only in the caption?
- Is it clearly labelled as advertising?
- Does it carry the prescribed warning for the product?
- Is the influencer's audience suitable for the product?
- Who checks the influencer's posts after launch, and how often?
Connor checks affiliates' and influencers' public accounts on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X, and LinkedIn company pages, daily. It scores each new post for whether it is about the firm, and can review the relevant ones automatically against the rules that apply.
Questions people ask
Is it illegal to be a finfluencer in the UK?
No. Talking about money is legal. What is illegal is communicating a financial promotion in the course of business without being authorised or having it approved by an authorised firm with the FCA's permission, unless an exemption applies (FSMA section 21).
Does an influencer need to be paid for the rules to apply?
Not by a firm. There must be some commercial interest, but the FCA reads that widely: a communication may be caught “even when an influencer does not have a commercial relationship with a firm”, and “in the course of business” captures “any level of commerciality”, such as being paid by a platform for views or hoping for a future deal.
Is a firm responsible for what its affiliates post?
The FCA expects firms that use affiliates, including influencers, to take appropriate steps to make sure they understand the product, know the rules and are not communicating illegal promotions, and to consider how they monitor them (FG24/1, paragraphs 3.21–3.22).
Does “not financial advice” make a post compliant?
No. A disclaimer does not change whether a post invites or induces investment. If it does, section 21 applies whatever the post says about itself.
Sources
11 sources, read on
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, section 21Legislation
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, section 25Legislation
- FG24/1: financial promotions on social mediaGuidance · 26 March 2024
- FG24/1, full text (PDF)Guidance
- COBS 4.10.2R: approving financial promotionsRule
- CAP Code, section 2: recognition of marketing communicationsRule · Advertising Standards Authority
- Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are adsGuidance · ASA and CAP
- FCA cracks down on illegal finfluencersPublication · 22 October 2024
- FCA leads international crackdown on illegal finfluencersPublication · 6 June 2025
- Influencers fined for issuing unauthorised financial promotionsPublication · 20 February 2026
- FCA spearheads global action to stop illegal finfluencersPublication · 24 April 2026
This page explains the rules; it is not legal advice. Rules change: read the provision itself before relying on it. If you find an error, email hi@runconnor.com and we will correct it.
James Zhao
Co-founder, ConnorJames is a co-founder of Connor. After a corporate career at Barclays and KPMG as a software engineer, he built and exited his own software company. He has spent the last three years at the forefront of AI, and the most recent of them building AI-native products and the agent platform behind Connor.
Kashif Rafiq
Co-founder, ConnorKashif is a co-founder of Connor. He spent his career inside two of the most heavily monitored industries there are, investment banking at Goldman Sachs and energy at BP, working on the security and technology systems that keep regulated communications and data under control. He now builds Connor, which checks financial promotions against the rules that apply to them.
