Starting early this year, Microsoft will allow only advertisers duly authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to present regulated financial promotions in the UK. Advertisers will be required to provide proof of authorization by the UK FCA to present Financial Promotion Ads or specify if they’re either 1) a non-financial services advertiser who may target consumers seeking financial services, such as e-commerce platforms or 2) government entities such as authorities or regulators under the “.gov.uk” domain.

Why we care. If you live in the UK or advertise for a UK financial services company, you’ll need to start the verification process here.

Keep in mind. Microsoft says to keep the following into consideration:

• These requirements are in addition to the Advertiser Identity Verification requirements laid out by Microsoft as part of its safety measures to protect consumers, advertisers, and publishers.
• Failure to complete this verification process will result in ads being blocked from serving in the UK—the account will continue to perform as before with respect to non-Financial Services Ads and in markets outside of the UK.

Dig deeper. Read the announcement on the Microsoft blog here.

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