Start With the FCA Register
The Financial Conduct Authority holds a public record of every firm and individual it allows to carry out regulated financial business in the UK. This record is the FCA Register, and anyone can search it free of charge at register.fca.org.uk.
Type the firm's name into the search yourself rather than following a link you have been sent. A link in an email or a text message can lead to a page built to look like the register, and going there directly is the only way to be sure you are reading the real record.
What the Entry Should Tell You
A genuine entry shows the firm's status, its Firm Reference Number and the activities it has permission to carry out. The status should read Authorised or Registered. A firm that is no longer authorised, or that does not appear on the register at all, should not be offering you regulated products.
Read the permissions as carefully as the status. A firm can be properly authorised for one kind of business, such as arranging mortgages, and still have no permission to sell you shares, bonds or a pension transfer.
A Matching Entry Is Only Half the Check
The most common way fraudsters pass this check is by using the name and reference number of a real, authorised firm. Because the register entry is genuine, the search appears to confirm everything they have told you. What they cannot copy is the firm's own website, telephone number and bank account.
Compare the website, email address and telephone number you were given with the details on the register entry. If any of them differ, call the firm on the number the register shows and ask whether the approach really came from them.
Search the FCA Warning List as Well
The FCA publishes a Warning List of firms it believes are operating without permission or pretending to be authorised firms. A search there takes a minute and may show that a firm has already been reported. A clear result is reassuring but not conclusive, because new names are used every week and the list can only show the ones the FCA has already found.
Check the Account Before Any Money Leaves
When you are asked to pay, your bank's Confirmation of Payee check tells you whether the account name matches the firm you believe you are paying. A genuine firm takes payment into an account in its own name, so a request to pay a personal account or a business with a different name is the moment to stop.
A MetaAshes assessment brings these checks together. It compares the details you have been given with the FCA Register, Companies House and other official records in one assessment, and shows you what matches and what does not.
How MetaAshes Examines This
A MetaAshes assessment cross-references a firm's details against the official record in a single pass. For this question, the most relevant checks include:
- Authorisation status
- Firm Reference Number validity
- Scope of regulatory permissions
- Official website on record
- Official telephone number on record
- FCA Warning List screening
- Payee name verification
Frequently Asked
Is the FCA Register free to use?
Yes. Anyone can search it at register.fca.org.uk without an account. If you are unsure what an entry means, the FCA's consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 can help.
What is a Firm Reference Number?
It is the unique number the FCA gives each firm it authorises or registers. A genuine firm will give you its number readily, and the register will show that number against the same firm name.
If a firm is on the FCA Register, is my money protected?
It depends on the product and on who you are really dealing with. The Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme cover many products sold by authorised firms, but that protection does not extend to someone who is only pretending to be that firm.
This guide is provided for general information and does not constitute financial or legal advice.