The financial services industry is lagging when it comes to identifying and servicing vulnerable customers, putting them at risk of both regulatory and reputational damage.
While some businesses seem to be making progress – writing vulnerable customer policies, training staff and adopting front-line techniques – there is still a lot to be done. Identifying vulnerable customers requires empathy, not just skill and awareness, and financial services firms can learn a number of lessons from other sectors that have successfully tackled the issue. Measures to be taken include an approach of continuous testing, sharing best practice and empowering employees, but the most important point is that companies must not see it as a tick box exercise. With the upcoming consultation from the FCA, firms that fail to address their handling of vulnerable customers will soon find themselves under scrutiny from the regulator.
This article first appeared in Professional Adviser March 2019
