Why IT Compliance Is Non-Negotiable for Financial Services Firms in 2026
The regulatory landscape for UK financial services has never been more demanding. Between evolving FCA expectations, the UK GDPR framework, DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act now influencing UK policy), and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, firms operating in this sector face a level of IT scrutiny that most other industries simply don't encounter.
Whether you run a boutique wealth management practice, a fintech startup, an insurance brokerage, or a mid-sized IFA firm, your IT infrastructure is no longer just an operational concern — it's a compliance and reputational one. A single data breach or system failure can trigger FCA investigations, client losses, and significant financial penalties.
This checklist is designed to help UK financial services businesses take stock of where they stand heading into 2026 — and identify the gaps before a regulator or a threat actor does it for them.
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1. FCA Compliance IT Support: Understanding Your Obligations
The FCA's operational resilience framework, which came into full effect in March 2025, requires firms to have mapped their important business services, set impact tolerances, and — critically — demonstrated they can remain within those tolerances during disruption.
From an IT perspective, this means:
- Business impact assessments must be documented and regularly reviewed
- Disaster recovery plans must be tested, not just written
- Third-party IT dependencies (cloud providers, SaaS platforms, managed service providers) must be assessed and monitored
- Incident response procedures must be clearly defined and staff must be trained on them
If your IT support partner isn't actively helping you address these requirements, that's a problem worth addressing now.
2. Cybersecurity Checklist for Financial Services Firms
Financial services organisations remain among the most targeted sectors for cybercrime in the UK. Here's what your cybersecurity posture should include as a baseline in 2026:
Identity and Access Management
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforced across all systems — not just email
- Role-based access controls reviewed at least quarterly
- Privileged access management (PAM) tools in place for admin accounts
- Immediate offboarding procedures when staff leave
Endpoint and Network Security
- All devices enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform
- DNS filtering active to block malicious domains at the network level
- Segmented networks to isolate sensitive client data from general office traffic
- Regular vulnerability scanning — monthly at minimum, weekly is better
Email and Phishing Protection
- DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records correctly configured on your domain
- Advanced email filtering with sandboxing for attachments
- Regular phishing simulation exercises to test staff awareness
Data Protection and Encryption
- All laptops and mobile devices encrypted (BitLocker or equivalent)
- Client data encrypted at rest and in transit
- Clear data retention and deletion policies aligned with UK GDPR
At Coreitech, we work with a number of financial services clients in London and across the UK, and one of the most common gaps we see is firms that have invested in security tools but haven't properly configured or monitored them. Having a firewall isn't the same as having a working firewall.
3. IT Compliance for UK Financial Services: Key Frameworks to Know
Beyond FCA operational resilience rules, your firm may need to align with:
- UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 — client data handling, consent, and breach notification obligations
- Cyber Essentials / Cyber Essentials Plus — increasingly expected by enterprise clients and insurers; required for some government contracts
- ISO 27001 — the international standard for information security management; relevant for larger firms or those with institutional clients
- DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) — while primarily an EU regulation, UK firms with EU operations or clients need to understand its reach
- PCI DSS — if your firm handles card payments, compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is mandatory
Your IT support provider should understand which of these apply to your firm and be able to provide documentation, evidence, and configurations that support your compliance position.
4. Cloud and Infrastructure Considerations for Fintech and Wealth Management
IT support for wealth management firms and fintech infrastructure support both require a nuanced understanding of how regulated data moves through your systems.
Cloud Hosting and Data Residency
- Confirm where your data is actually stored — many cloud platforms default to US-based servers
- Ensure your cloud provider offers UK or EEA data residency options and can provide data processing agreements (DPAs)
- Avoid shadow IT — staff using personal cloud storage (Dropbox, personal Google Drive) for client files is a compliance risk
System Availability and Resilience
- Define your recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for critical systems
- Ensure backups are automated, encrypted, offsite, and tested — untested backups are not backups
- Consider redundant internet connections for business-critical offices
Software Patching and Lifecycle Management
- All operating systems and applications should be on supported versions — running Windows 10 beyond its October 2025 end-of-life date, for example, creates a compliance and security exposure
- Patch management should be automated where possible, with a defined process for emergency patches
5. Staff Awareness: Your Most Underinvested Security Control
Technology can only go so far. In financial services, where social engineering attacks (impersonation, vishing, business email compromise) are common, your people are both your greatest vulnerability and your strongest defence.
A practical staff security programme should include:
- Annual security awareness training as a minimum — ideally quarterly refreshers
- Simulated phishing campaigns with results tracked and acted upon
- Clear escalation paths so staff know exactly who to contact if they suspect an incident
- Policies that are actually read — short, practical, and reviewed annually
6. Vendor and Third-Party Risk Management
If your firm uses third-party software, outsourced services, or cloud platforms — and virtually every firm does — you have inherited risk. The FCA expects firms to manage this actively.
Practical steps:
- Maintain a register of all third-party IT suppliers and the data they access
- Review supplier security policies and accreditations annually
- Ensure contracts include data processing agreements and security obligations
- Have a plan for what happens if a key supplier suffers an outage or breach
Conduct a Compliance-Ready IT Review Before 2026 Closes
Regulatory expectations are tightening, cyber threats are growing more sophisticated, and the cost of getting it wrong — financially and reputationally — continues to rise. For firms operating in financial services, managed IT support isn't simply about keeping the lights on. It's about maintaining the technical infrastructure that your compliance, client trust, and operational resilience depend on.
If you're unsure whether your current IT setup meets these standards, or if you've never had a formal IT security review, now is the right time to change that.
Speak to Coreitech today. We provide specialist IT support for financial services firms across London and the UK, helping businesses align their IT infrastructure with FCA compliance requirements and modern cybersecurity best practice.
📞 Call us on 0203 834 9728 📧 Email: sales@coreitech.co.uk 🌐 coreitech.co.uk