The FCA’s 29 October review of consumer-finance firms found that stronger fair-value assessments linked what customers paid with the benefits they actually received. Weaker assessments relied on assumptions or left useful evidence scattered across documents. The publication sets out supervisory findings rather than new requirements.[1][2]
A credit-card provider, for example, quantified cashback and foreign-exchange savings and compared them with fees and interest. The FCA’s point was that a list of product features could not replace evidence of the benefit delivered to customers.[1][2]
The review also examined customer groups, monitoring and communications. Segmenting users by usage and price helps reveal whether an average result hides poor value for a particular cohort. The FCA says firms should use a proportionate approach suited to their business, products and customers.[1][2]
Applying the question to investment platforms
For a broker, an analogous analysis would compare the service used with the full charge incurred: commission, currency conversion, custody or inactivity fees where applicable. Occasional investors and frequent traders can face different effective costs under the same tariff. These are applications of the FCA’s evidential approach, not findings against a named broker in the consumer-finance review.[1][2]
Customer understanding is part of that assessment. A clearly displayed tariff can still require testing to establish whether users understand the charges they actually encounter. Complaints, feedback and utilisation data can contribute evidence without requiring every smaller firm to build a complex model.[1][2]
The review expressly says its examples create no new requirements and prescribe no specific actions. Their relevance to investment intermediaries lies in how they test a fair-value conclusion; the applicable obligation still depends on the firm’s activities, products and customers.[2]
Sources & further reading
- What does fair value look like in practice? Three years into the Consumer Duty, here’s what we’ve learned Financial Conduct Authority · 29 Oct 2026 · Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Fair value in consumer finance Financial Conduct Authority · 29 Oct 2026 · Accessed 30 Oct 2026