The Financial Services Authority (FSA) legislation introduced in March 2009 requires that some UK financial institutions record and store telephone conversations and electronic communications relating to client orders for the equity, bond and derivatives markets and retain the files for six months.

Although call recording facilities may already be in place, these typically only cover calls made or taken at a telephone extension within the organisation’s main offices. With an increase in flexible and home-based working within the financial sector, as elsewhere, this limits the activities that can be undertaken by staff when away from their office.

For financial institutions looking to introduce new systems to meet the FSA legislation, there are considerations for security and a resilient authentication system. Security and Tamper Evidence has to meet the FSA requirements, both on the platform and while transmitted. In addition, the archiving system needs to be secure and, ideally, should be easy to use.