Top 5 Financial Compliance Courses for 2026

FCA enforcement activity continues to intensify, with £176 million in fines issued in 2024 alone, representing a 230% increase from the previous year. For financial services firms, keeping employees trained on regulatory obligations is no longer optional but a core business requirement. The right compliance training protects your organisation from regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and operational failures.

This guide covers the five essential compliance courses every FCA-regulated firm should prioritise in 2026, based on legal requirements and current regulatory focus areas.

Why Are Compliance Courses Critical for Financial Services in 2026?

Regulatory requirements for UK financial services firms have expanded significantly in recent years. The Consumer Duty, which came into force in July 2023, raised standards for customer outcomes across the industry. The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) continues to hold individuals personally accountable for regulatory failures. Meanwhile, financial crime remains a top FCA priority, with updated guidance on sanctions, fraud prevention, and anti-money laundering published in late 2024.

Training is not simply about awareness. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, failing to train relevant employees on AML obligations constitutes a criminal offence. Section 64B of the Financial Services and Markets Act requires firms to train staff on how the Conduct Rules apply to their roles. The FCA has explicitly warned that firms not training staff well enough to support good consumer outcomes will face regulatory scrutiny.

Beyond legal requirements, effective training reduces operational risk. The Starling Bank case from 2024, which resulted in a £29 million fine, demonstrated how compliance systems can fail when they do not keep pace with business growth. Regular, relevant training helps ensure staff understand their obligations as regulations and business activities evolve.

Top 5 FCA-Mandated Compliance Courses Every Firm Needs in 2026

The following five courses address the most critical regulatory requirements for UK financial services firms. Each reflects specific legal obligations, current FCA priorities, or both. Prioritising these areas helps firms meet their compliance duties while building a culture of regulatory awareness.

Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

AML training is a legal requirement under Regulation 24 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. The regulation requires firms to ensure relevant employees are made aware of laws relating to money laundering and terrorist financing, and that they receive regular training on recognising and dealing with suspicious transactions.

Firms must maintain written records of the training provided. Breaching Regulation 24 constitutes a criminal offence, and inadequate training almost certainly leads to other regulatory failures, such as ineffective customer due diligence. The FCA's Financial Crime Guide, updated in November 2024, reinforces expectations for staff training on sanctions reporting and financial crime prevention.

Who needs this training: All staff handling client funds, transactions, customer onboarding, or any role capable of contributing to the identification or mitigation of money laundering risk. The regulations define "relevant employees" broadly to include anyone whose work relates to compliance or risk mitigation.

Training frequency: Best practice recommends refresher training every 18 months, or sooner when regulatory changes require updated knowledge. The FCA expects training programmes to be relevant to each firm's specific services and client types.

Consumer Duty

The Consumer Duty represents the most significant FCA regulatory initiative in recent years. Introduced as a new Principle 12, it requires firms to "act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers." The Duty came into force for open products and services on 31 July 2023, with closed products following on 31 July 2024.

Unlike the previous Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principle, which focused on whether firms had appropriate frameworks, the Consumer Duty requires firms to demonstrate that they are actually delivering good customer outcomes. This includes four specific outcome areas: products and services, price and value, consumer understanding, and consumer support.

The FCA has warned that some firms are not training staff well enough to have complex conversations with customers and support good outcomes. In February 2024 guidance, the regulator highlighted training gaps as an area requiring improvement across the industry.

Who needs this training: All customer-facing staff, product design teams, marketing personnel, and senior management responsible for customer outcomes. A new Conduct Rule 6 requires staff to "act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers," extending individual accountability throughout the organisation.

Training requirements: Firms must provide relevant training on the conduct rules associated with the Duty. Training should be tailored to specific departments and roles rather than generic awareness sessions.

FCA Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR)

SMCR creates a framework of personal accountability for individuals in financial services. The regime consists of three elements: the Senior Managers Regime covering those in key leadership positions, the Certification Regime for employees who could cause significant harm, and Conduct Rules applying to virtually all staff.

Section 64B of the Financial Services and Markets Act requires firms to train relevant staff on how the Conduct Rules apply to their roles. This is a statutory requirement, not simply regulatory guidance. Senior Managers must understand both the six Individual Conduct Rules applicable to all staff and the four additional Senior Manager Conduct Rules.

The FCA expects training to result in employees gaining awareness and broad understanding of all conduct rules, plus deeper understanding of rules specifically relevant to their work. The regulator provides examples of both good and poor practice in fitness and propriety assessments, emphasising that training must be more than a tick-box exercise.

Who needs this training: Senior Managers require training before assuming their roles and ongoing refresher training. Certified staff must be trained before their annual fitness and propriety certification. All other staff subject to the Conduct Rules must receive appropriate training on their obligations.

The regime applies to all FCA-authorised firms, with proportionate requirements based on firm size and complexity (limited scope, core, or enhanced categories).

Financial Crime Prevention

Financial crime prevention extends beyond AML to cover fraud, market abuse, sanctions compliance, bribery, and other criminal risks. The FCA updated its Financial Crime Guide in November 2024, emphasising that reducing and preventing financial crime remains a strategic priority through 2025 and beyond.

Key updates include enhanced guidance on sanctions compliance, with explicit expectations that senior management should be sufficiently aware of sanctions obligations to discharge their functions effectively. The Guide now requires firms to consider whether their financial crime systems and controls align with Consumer Duty obligations. New sections address proliferation financing risk assessments and cryptoasset businesses.

The FCA has seen firms fail to update staff training following significant sanctions developments. Poor practice examples include firms with low-quality customer due diligence reviews and backlogs that increase the risk of not identifying sanctioned individuals or entities.

Who needs this training: All staff involved in customer onboarding, transaction processing, compliance monitoring, and senior management with oversight of financial crime controls. The Guide emphasises that senior managers should set clear risk appetite and ensure adequate management information reaches decision-makers.

Training should cover current typologies, sanctions evasion techniques, and reporting obligations. The updated Guide references NECC red alerts for sanctions evasion as an additional resource firms should incorporate.

Treating Customers Fairly (TCF)

TCF remains a foundational requirement under FCA Principle 6: "A firm must pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly." While the Consumer Duty has raised the bar, TCF continues to apply and forms the baseline expectation for customer treatment.

The FCA sets out six consumer outcomes that firms should achieve: customers are confident they are dealing with firms where fair treatment is central to corporate culture; products and services meet identified customer needs; consumers receive clear information before, during, and after sale; advice is suitable when provided; products perform as expected; and customers face no unreasonable barriers when changing products, switching providers, or making complaints.

TCF applies regardless of whether a firm has direct contact with retail customers. Risks and poor conduct can transfer from wholesale to retail markets, making TCF relevant throughout the distribution chain. Senior management must ensure TCF is embedded throughout the organisation and demonstrate this through appropriate management information.

Who needs this training: Sales staff, advisory teams, customer support functions, product designers, marketing teams, and senior management. The principles apply at every stage of the product lifecycle and customer relationship.

The Consumer Duty overlays TCF rather than replacing it. Firms should ensure staff understand both frameworks and how they interact in practice.

How Can Financial Firms Deliver Compliance Training More Effectively in 2026?

Traditional compliance training faces significant challenges. Research shows that completion rates for mandatory compliance courses can fall as low as 40%, with employees often viewing training as a formality rather than a development opportunity. The forgetting curve means learners lose up to 50% of new information within 20 minutes of a training session.

Microlearning addresses these challenges by delivering content in short, focused modules that employees can complete during natural breaks in their workday. Studies show microlearning courses achieve completion rates around 80% compared to 20-30% for traditional e-learning, with retention improvements of 25-60%.

For compliance training specifically, microlearning enables just-in-time delivery aligned with regulatory requirements. When new sanctions are announced or regulations change, updated content can reach relevant employees immediately rather than waiting for annual training cycles. AI-powered platforms can tailor content to individual roles, ensuring risk officers receive different training from customer service representatives.

The FCA expects firms to maintain written records of training provided. Modern learning management systems automate this documentation, creating audit trails that demonstrate compliance during regulatory reviews. Analytics capabilities help identify knowledge gaps before they become regulatory issues.

What Are the Benefits of Keeping FCA Compliance Training Up to Date in 2026?

Maintaining current compliance training delivers benefits beyond regulatory obligation. First, it reduces the risk of enforcement action. The FCA has demonstrated willingness to issue significant fines for systemic control failures, with training adequacy forming part of the regulatory assessment.

Second, up-to-date training supports stronger accountability frameworks. Under SMCR, Senior Managers can be held personally liable for failures within their areas of responsibility. Demonstrating that staff received appropriate training provides evidence of reasonable steps taken to prevent breaches.

Third, effective compliance training builds consumer trust. The Consumer Duty explicitly connects staff competence to customer outcomes. Employees who understand their obligations can better support customers, reducing complaints and improving satisfaction.

Fourth, current training helps firms adapt to regulatory change. The FCA's Financial Crime Guide update, Consumer Duty implementation, and evolving sanctions requirements all demonstrate the pace of regulatory development. Firms with agile training programmes can respond quickly rather than accumulating compliance gaps.

Finally, proactive training investment often costs less than remediation. When compliance failures occur, firms face not just fines but costs of customer redress, system improvements, and management time dedicated to regulatory engagement. Prevention through effective training represents better value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which compliance courses are mandatory for FCA-regulated firms in 2026?

Anti-Money Laundering training is legally mandated under Regulation 24 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. SMCR Conduct Rules training is required under Section 64B of the Financial Services and Markets Act. Consumer Duty training is effectively mandatory given the FCA's expectations that staff understand their obligations under the new Conduct Rule 6. Financial crime prevention and TCF training are required to meet FCA Principles and supervisory expectations, even where not specified in statute.

How often should financial compliance training be updated?

AML training best practice recommends refresher training every 18 months, or when regulatory changes require updated knowledge. SMCR requires annual fitness and propriety certification for Certified Staff, with associated training. Consumer Duty training should be ongoing as the FCA continues issuing guidance. Financial crime training should be updated following significant developments such as new sanctions regimes or updated FCA guidance. The principle across all areas is that training remains current and relevant to actual regulatory requirements.

Is AML training still a legal requirement under FCA rules?

Yes. Regulation 24 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 requires relevant persons to ensure employees are made aware of money laundering and terrorist financing laws, and regularly given training in recognising and dealing with suspicious transactions. Firms must maintain written records of training provided. Breaching Regulation 24 is a criminal offence. This requirement has not changed and remains fully in force.

Can online microlearning replace traditional classroom compliance training?

Yes, for most compliance training purposes. The FCA does not prescribe training delivery methods, focusing instead on whether training achieves required outcomes. Research shows microlearning can deliver superior retention and completion rates compared to traditional formats. The key requirements are that training results in staff understanding their obligations, is relevant to their roles, is documented appropriately, and is refreshed when regulations change. Many firms now use microlearning as their primary compliance training method, supplemented by targeted sessions for complex topics.

What happens if financial services employees miss mandatory training deadlines?

Missing training deadlines creates regulatory and operational risk. For AML training, the firm may be in breach of Money Laundering Regulations, potentially exposing it to criminal liability. For SMCR, staff cannot be certified as fit and proper without appropriate training, preventing them from performing certification functions. For Consumer Duty, untrained staff may fail to deliver good customer outcomes, exposing the firm to FCA enforcement. Practically, firms should have processes to track completion, escalate non-compliance to line managers, and potentially restrict duties for staff who have not completed mandatory training. The FCA may request evidence of training completion during supervisory visits.

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