The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled out forcing financial services companies to use specific communication channels.

It has instead insisted communications should be effective regardless of the channel of communication used – whether face-to-face, on the telephone or online.

In its consumer duty guidance, published today (27 July), the regulator said each communication should be considered individually and must comply with the “relevant rules”.

Firms must also ensure the information provided enables customers to assess whether the options available to them meet their needs and evaluate any risks.

The guidance states that firms should take particular care when communicating with consumers in vulnerable circumstances.

The regulator reiterated that, in markets where the provision of advice is a regulated activity, the information provided should not amount to advice unless the firm has an advisory role.

Communications should instead aim to equip customers with relevant information to make effective decisions “in a way that does not amount to the provision of regulated advice”.

Financial Technology Research Centre director Ian McKenna said not mandating the types of communication channels firms must use was a good thing.

Doing so, he suggests, would stifle innovation in the market.

Many advice businesses and larger providers are starting to offer different forms of communication depending on the complexity of the case.

A lot of the companies which have launched a hybrid offering claim it will allow them to offer advice to a wider range of clients.

This has meant a flurry of activity around hybrid advice, which picked up last year, has continued to gather pace in 2022.