FCA Targeted Support · Live 6 April 2026

The new regulation that lets banks help 23 million people they've never been allowed to help before.

If you're a bank, building society, or investment firm, this is the most significant regulatory change in a decade. Here's what it is, what it means for your firm, and whether you can use it.

Understand the regulation → Unlock your bank's potential →
23m
UK consumers currently underserved by advice and guidance
6 Apr
Date Targeted Support goes live. The authorisation window is open now.
£7bn
Estimated new revenue opportunity across UK financial institutions
The Plain-English Explainer

For 30 years, UK banks were stuck between two bad options. That just changed.

The FCA has created a brand new regulatory category called Targeted Support. It sits between generic guidance and expensive personalised advice, and it changes what banks can say to their customers.

The UK financial advice spectrum

Before 2026 · Option 1

Regulated Advice

Fully personalised to an individual's circumstances. Requires qualified advisers. Expensive and slow to deliver at scale.

Only 9% of UK adults received regulated advice last year. Effectively reserved for the wealthy.
→
New · April 2026
Targeted Support

Ready-made suggestions

Segment-based. Not individual. Affordable to deliver at scale. FCA-regulated but finally accessible to everyone.

Could reach all 23 million underserved customers. The middle ground that simply didn't exist before.
→
Before 2026 · Option 2

Nothing

Generic information only. No suggestions. No guidance on what might actually help the customer make a better decision.

Where most customers still end up. 91% of UK adults make financial decisions entirely alone.

So what exactly is Targeted Support?

Targeted Support allows FCA-authorised firms to make "ready-made suggestions" to groups of customers who share similar characteristics. Not individual advice — but something far more useful than silence.

A real example
"Customers aged 30–45 with more than £10,000 in cash savings and no Stocks & Shares ISA could be missing out on long-term growth. A Stocks & Shares ISA may be worth considering."

This is a ready-made suggestion. Based on a segment profile, not individual circumstances. Legal under Targeted Support. Impossible to say before April 2026.

This is allowed

Segment-based suggestions ("Customers like you may benefit from..."), directing customers to specific product categories, proactive outreach to eligible segments.

This is still not allowed

Personalised advice based on individual financial circumstances, specific fund or stock recommendations, guaranteeing outcomes.

The Requirements

Three things the FCA requires from every firm offering Targeted Support.

Get these right and you're compliant. Miss any one of them and you're exposed.

🎯
1. Defined Segments
Suggestions must be based on clearly defined customer segments — not individuals. You need documented criteria: age range, product holdings, savings thresholds, life stage. The FCA will ask to see them.
📚
2. Understanding Obligation
Under Consumer Duty, firms must ensure customers understand the suggestions they receive. Delivering a suggestion isn't enough. You need evidence that customers comprehend what they're being told and why.
📊
3. Outcome Monitoring
You must regularly review whether your Targeted Support service is actually putting customers in a "better position." That means tracking comprehension, conversion, and engagement — and reporting it to your board.
⚖️
Regulatory note: Only FCA-authorised firms with over £500,000 in regulatory capital may offer Targeted Support. Firms must apply for a Variation of Permission (VoP) through the FCA authorisation gateway, which opened in March 2026. The window is open now.

What you can and cannot say.

A practical reference for compliance and product teams.

✓
Under Targeted Support, you can...
New permissions from 6 April 2026
✓
Tell customers their cash savings may be outpaced by inflation and a Stocks & Shares ISA could help
✓
Proactively contact segments with ready-made suggestions via app, email, and in-branch messaging
✓
Suggest pension consolidation to customers approaching retirement with multiple workplace pensions
✓
Recommend a specific product category based on a defined customer profile
✓
Direct customers to educational content that explains the suggestion you've made
✗
You still cannot...
These remain regulated advice
✗
Give personalised advice based on a specific customer's full financial picture
✗
Recommend a specific investment fund, stock, or asset allocation for an individual
✗
Make promises about investment returns or guarantee performance
✗
Take responsibility for a customer's individual investment decision
✗
Skip Consumer Duty obligations — you must evidence customer understanding
The Timeline

Where we are. And what happens next.

July 2023
Consumer Duty introduced
FCA launches Consumer Duty, requiring firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers and evidence that they are in a "better position" as a result of their products and services. The compliance burden begins.
December 2024
FCA confirms Targeted Support framework
FCA Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Pritchard calls the new regime "game-changing," confirming it will allow millions of customers to get help they have never been able to access before.
March 2026
VoP authorisation gateway opens
The FCA opens the Variation of Permission (VoP) application gateway. Firms can now formally apply to offer Targeted Support. First-movers who apply now will be ready on day one.
6 April 2026 · NOW
Targeted Support goes live
Authorised firms can begin offering Targeted Support to customers. The advice gap starts closing. Early movers gain the customer trust and conversion advantage before competitors are ready.
Q3 2026 onwards
First outcome reviews required
Firms must begin formal outcome monitoring and evidence that their Targeted Support service places customers in a "better position." Firms without a compliance evidence framework will struggle.
The Opportunity

The numbers behind the advice gap.

This isn't a regulatory box-ticking exercise. This is a commercial opening.

23m
UK consumers currently underserved by financial advice or guidance (FCA, 2026)
7m
Adults with £10,000+ in cash who do not invest — the prime Targeted Support segment
9%
Of UK adults received regulated financial advice last year. 91% made decisions alone.
5×
Higher conversion to investment products when customers receive education alongside a suggestion
"Targeted support will be game-changing. It means millions of people can get extra help to make better financial decisions."
Sarah Pritchard, Deputy Chief Executive, FCA — December 2025
Interactive Tools

Can your bank leverage this regulation?

Three tools to find out — your eligibility, your revenue opportunity, and your readiness gaps.

Tool 01

Can I leverage this regulation?

Answer 5 quick questions and we'll tell you whether your firm is eligible to offer Targeted Support, what your customer opportunity looks like, and what you'd need to get started.

5 questions, takes under 2 minutes
✓ Personalised eligibility result
£ Estimated customer opportunity size
Is your firm currently FCA-authorised?

beatvest provides the education layer that makes Targeted Support compliant and convert.
Talk to beatvest →
Tool 02

Revenue opportunity calculator

How much could Targeted Support be worth to your firm? Enter your customer base to see the revenue gap between deploying suggestions alone versus suggestions with an education layer.

Based on
Conversion benchmarks from German banking partners (2023–2025). ~3% baseline conversion from suggestion alone. 12–18% with structured financial education. Fee income modelled at 0.5% of invested assets.
500,000 customers
50k5m
20% of customers
5%50%
£15,000 average
£5k£60k
Estimated annual fee income (0.5% of AUM)
Without education layer
£900,000
~3% conversion from suggestion to investment product
With beatvest education
£5,250,000
~14% average conversion with structured financial education
Estimated uplift with education
+£4,350,000 / year
Addressable segment: 100,000 customers
Tool 03

Readiness gap scorecard

Tick what your firm already has in place. We'll show you your readiness score and which gaps beatvest can fill immediately — so you can launch Targeted Support without delay.

Your score
0/8

Tick the items your firm already has in place.

beatvest fills
0
of your missing requirements
FCA authorisation in place
Your firm holds a valid FCA consumer credit or investment authorisation
Your team
Regulatory capital above £500,000
Required to offer Targeted Support under FCA rules
Your team
Variation of Permission (VoP) applied for
Application submitted through the FCA authorisation gateway
Your team
Customer segments defined and documented
Written criteria for each segment eligible for Targeted Support
Your team
Ready-made suggestions drafted and approved
FCA-compliant suggestion templates for each segment and product
beatvest helps
Customer education layer in place
Structured financial education content that evidences customer understanding
beatvest provides
Consumer Duty evidence framework
System to capture quiz scores, comprehension data, and informed consent
beatvest provides
Outcome monitoring and reporting
Dashboard tracking engagement, conversion, and customer outcomes for board reporting
beatvest provides
Readiness 0%
beatvest for banks
You can deliver the suggestion. beatvest makes sure customers act on it.

The education layer that sits between your Targeted Support suggestion and first investment. Fully white-labelled, Consumer Duty compliant, live in weeks.

See the platform → Book a demo