FCA Compliance Horizon: 2026

As we step into 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority’s agenda continues to reflect both consistency and evolution – reinforcing long-standing priorities while embracing new areas of regulatory focus. For us in compliance, it’s vital to understand not just what’s changing, but why it matters. This article sets out some of the key topics on the FCA’s regulatory horizon for 2026.

Deepening Outcomes Under the Consumer Duty

The Consumer Duty remains the FCA’s anchor priority for 2025–2026. Having established this regime, the FCA’s supervisory emphasis is shifting away from conceptual compliance to demonstrating real consumer outcomes.

Firms will face intensified scrutiny around the regulators four stated priorities for this year:

• Review of products and services outcome – How firms are designing products and services to meet customer needs, including those with characteristics of vulnerability.  

• Review of firms’ approaches to outcomes monitoring – How firms are responding to the outcomes monitoring requirements.  

• Review of firms’ customer journey design – Looking at the design and delivery of firms’ customer journeys to ensure customers’ needs are met, with a particular focus on how firms apply friction throughout the journey.

• Review of the consumer understanding outcome – How firms’ communications are helping consumers make informed decisions.  

This is more than a tick-box exercise – the FCA wants evidence of impact, not intent. The Duty continues to shape the regulator’s thematic reviews and expectations across retail and consumer finance sectors.

Smart Regulation: Data, Technology & Efficiency

The FCA’s annual work programme for 2025/26 signals a broader transformation in how the regulator engages with the industry. Key initiatives include:

• Streamlining regulatory data collection to reduce burden

• Enhancing digital engagement via tools like My FCA which has now launched

• Using data and tech to identify harm earlier and more effectively

This ties into the FCA’s ambition to be a smarter, more efficient regulator, which should help firms better manage resource allocation in their compliance functions.

Supporting Growth Through Innovation – With Guardrails

Under the government’s growth agenda, the FCA has stepped up support for innovation. A notable example is the priority placed on stablecoin development and experimentation in 2026, including specific cohorts in the FCA’s regulatory sandbox. This reflects a broader shift toward enabling new payment rails and digital asset infrastructure – but with consumer protection and market integrity firmly in mind. Where firm’s have partnered with fintech operators, perhaps using new payment models, this presents both an opportunity and challenge.

Expanded Regulatory Perimeter

In 2026 the FCA’s supervisory focus is as they gain powers to regulate additional sectors, including:

• Cryptoassets & digital assets regimes

• AI-enabled services and data use

• Providers of BNPL credit

• The FCA is also due to implement the Targeted Support Regime which follows the findings of the Advice Guidance Boundary Review. In essence the FCA is creating a new regulated activity, providing targeted support, which differs from advice as it is offered to co-horts of customers based on their characteristics and needs.

Operational Resilience & Financial Crime

The cross-cutting themes of resilience and financial crime compliance remain central, as regulators expect firms to demonstrate robust systems, governance and risk management frameworks that can withstand disruption and protect consumers. Even as the FCA modernises its toolkit, the foundational importance of strong AML/CFT, cyber defence and third-party risk oversight persists.

Conclusion

2026 is shaping up as a year of deeper embedding, smarter engagement, and wider horizons for FCA regulation. Compliance functions should prioritise embedding tangible outcomes under the Consumer Duty, leverage regulatory technology to manage data and reporting, and proactively prepare for broader demands arising from innovation, new asset classes and evolving expectations around governance and risk.

Next Steps

👉 Why not join us on our webinar where we will discuss the regulatory timeline for 2026.

🔍 What to expect: 

• Insight into the FCA’s key focus areas for 2026 

• Practical takeaways for compliance and risk teams 

• Strategies to align your business with upcoming regulatory expectations

Don’t miss out — secure your ticket today!👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fca-priorities-for-2026-navigating-the-regulatory-landscape-tickets-1968494424815?aff=oddtdtcreator