Editor's note: this post was first published in 2016 and has been updated to reflect the enforcement of the new MiFID II regulations.

The deadline for compliance with the new MiFID regulations has now passed. The new MiFID II extension requires anyone providing financial advice that may lead to a trade to record their calls. For the first time, call recording regulations now apply to wealth managers and Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs). The new legislation also states that organisations must store recordings for five years in a secure environment, and implement a system for reviewing and monitoring all client-employee conversations.

Reducing the cost of compliance

It has been estimated that using legacy call recording solutions adds approximately £1,000 – £1,200 to an average phone bill every year – and that is without upfront costs such as installation of on-premise equipment. These costs can be crippling for smaller firms, and troubling for larger companies, due to the number of employee calls with clients and prospects. As customer calls must also be securely stored and managed for 5 years, companies are faced with a huge data repository that requires a secure and substantial storage system.  

The implications of MiFID compliance extend beyond just cost:

• Storage – all recorded conversations must be stored for 5 years.

• Security – storing such a vast amount of data securely will be a challenge to traditional storage solutions.

• Retrieving data –under MiFID II, authorities can request the retrieval of calls upon request. A smart search service will be essential for retrieving up to 5 years of recorded data.

• Implementation – Legacy call recording solutions require lengthy hardware installation, the costs of which are generally very high, requiring expert personnel, software licenses and the hardware itself.

MiFID II regulations also enforce changes to the operation and organisation of companies; for example, employees working from home need to ensure their calls are also recorded. Additionally, the need to store all recorded conversations for five years will require a system that is secure, has unlimited storage, and from which data is highly accessible.

Financial firms need to implement a recording solution that is secure, cost-effective, easy to implement, easy to use, offers near-unlimited  storage, and that allows call recording on individual phone lines and on mobile.

How can Dubber help?

Dubber’s communication capture solution uses a native cloud based platform to help financial organisations comply with MiFID II regulations.

Always on call recording

Dubber’s Always On cloud call recording ensures that all calls are captured, and can be deployed across both mobile and fixed lines.

Elastic storage

With Dubber’s cloud solution, storage is completely elastic. Deployed without the need for on-premise equipment, there is no risk of running out of storage space over time. An organisation can grow with the reassurance that their call recording solution will scale alongside them.

Multi-level security and AES-256 bit encryption

To ensure recorded calls are maintained securely, the Dubber platform is managed across multiple data centres. Dubber recordings are fully encrypted using one of the strongest block ciphers available — 256-bit advanced encryption standard (AES-256). Every protected object is encrypted with a regularly rotated master key, for added security.

Retrieval upon request

With Dubber’s Smart Search functionality, available as part of the Zoe intelligence suite, calls can be instantly retrieved through search criteria such as date, time, and caller to find conversations relating to specific transactions. This functionality gives organisations and individuals the tools to create a compliant audit trail.