Financial firms can no longer treat call monitoring as an afterthought. Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s watchful eye, every customer conversation now carries regulatory weight, and the recent Consumer Duty requirements have only intensified this reality.

Yet, many firms still struggle with manual reviews, scaling challenges, and the constant risk of non-compliance, which can ultimately lead to regulatory breaches and reputational harm.

The urgency is clear: the FCA now demands faster detection, more accurate monitoring, and bulletproof evidence of compliance. The old approach of sampling a few calls per month simply would not cut it anymore.

In this blog, we will show you how Aveni Detect and Aveni Assist can take the pain out of call monitoring and help you meet FCA requirements quickly and effectively.

Understanding FCA call monitoring requirements

The FCA’s rules on call monitoring and supervision are explicit. Under SYSC 10A of the FCA Handbook, firms must:

• Record and retain all relevant telephone and electronic communications relating to financial activities. (Source: FCA)
• Ensure traceability and audit trails. Every interaction must be accessible and reviewable for compliance checks.
• Provide evidence of suitability and clear oversight, particularly under the Consumer Duty, which demands firms demonstrate good outcomes for customers.

Manual or generic solutions often fail here: they struggle to scale, can not guarantee 100% coverage, and make it hard to provide the transparent oversight regulators expect.

For example, Market Watch 68 details how incomplete or inconsistent monitoring and surveillance systems, which can result from manual processes or generic technology, create compliance gaps, making it difficult for firms to capture all relevant data and provide the full oversight regulators expect.

The challenges of traditional call monitoring

Traditional call monitoring faces several critical obstacles:

• High call volumes and adviser meetings make it impossible to manually review every interaction.
• Manual review bottlenecks result in slow, inconsistent assessments and increased risk of human error.
• Compliance risks arise from incomplete or inconsistent monitoring, leaving firms exposed to regulatory action.
• Delays in identifying issues can impact timely corrective actions and regulatory reporting, undermining Consumer Duty obligations.

These issues create a dangerous gap between what is happening on the ground and what compliance teams can prove.

How AI can transform call monitoring for FCA compliance

AI-powered solutions are revolutionising call monitoring by automating:

• Transcription of every call and meeting.
• Summarisation and extraction of key points.
• Risk flagging: identifying vulnerability, complaints, and conduct risks in real time.

Crucially, industry-specific AI trained on financial services data is essential. Generic AI tools often lack the traceability, regulatory focus and auditability required for FCA compliance. Only sector-specific solutions can deliver the insights and evidence the FCA demands.

Scalable AI-Driven call surveillance with Aveni Detect

Aveni Detect is designed for financial services, delivering 100% coverage of all customer interactions at a fraction of the cost and time of manual processes.

Automatically surface Consumer Duty risks across every call. No manual reviews, no blind spots.

Key features for FCA readiness:

• Real-time risk alerts: Flag vulnerability, complaints, and conduct risks, embedding the FCA’s FG21-1 framework into your processes.
• Regulatory keyword and phrase detection: Automatically surfaces evidence of suitability and Consumer Duty compliance.
• Automated quality control workflows: Machine-driven assessments triage high-risk cases for human review, reducing manual effort and enabling faster, more focused oversight.

For example, a recent 2025 case study found that a QA process that previously took 90 minutes per case can now be completed in just 15 minutes with Aveni Detect, while ensuring 100% of calls are analysed for risk and compliance.

Auto QA in action: instantly assess every interaction for compliance, quality, and risk all in one dashboard.

How Aveni Assist complements call monitoring with FCA-ready meeting outputs

Monitoring the conversation is only part of the equation. After the meeting, advisers still need to document the advice, communicate outcomes, and update CRM records, which are all critical steps for FCA compliance.

That is where Aveni Assist steps in.

This GPT-powered meeting assistant auto-generates:

• Suitability reports
• Client follow-up emails
• CRM summaries and updates

And crucially, all outputs are traceable back to the call transcript. This ultimately ensures a clear audit trail and evidencing compliance with Consumer Duty.

Instantly generate suitability reports, client emails, and CRM updates. All of which are linked back to the original call.

By streamlining adviser workflows and reducing admin, Aveni Assist frees up time while strengthening documentation. Compliance teams get better-quality outputs. Advisers stay focused on client conversations, not paperwork.

Rapid deployment: going FCA-ready in weeks, not months

Aveni’s solutions are designed for quick, seamless integration:

• Works with MS Teams, Zoom, and Webex. No need for complex IT projects.
• User-friendly setup for both advisers and compliance teams.
• Comprehensive training and onboarding provided by Aveni’s experts.
• Realistic rollout timeline: Most firms can achieve FCA-ready monitoring and reporting in a matter of weeks, not months.

Firms using Aveni’s AI tools have accelerated their compliance projects, achieving rapid improvements in oversight and productivity.

Benefits summary: why choose Aveni for FCA-ready call monitoring

• Faster compliance with FCA record-keeping and oversight requirements
• 100% QA coverage at a fraction of the manual effort
• Auditable outputs linked to calls for Consumer Duty evidence
• Risk alerts and AI triage for timely intervention
• Built specifically for financial services, not retrofitted from generic AI

Together, Aveni Detect and Aveni Assist form a complete compliance intelligence platform,  giving firms the confidence to scale with the regulator, not against it.

Next steps: how to get started with Aveni Detect and Aveni Assist

Want to see how it works? Book a demo to see Aveni Assist and Aveni Detect in action.

Build FCA confidence, not complexity

FCA-ready call monitoring does not have to be a six-month ordeal. With AI-powered tools like Aveni Detect and Aveni Assist, you can achieve scalable oversight, audit-ready documentation, and automated risk detection in just weeks.

The stakes are high. Consumer Duty is not going away. Do not let outdated processes hold you back. 

Start building your compliance advantage today.

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