Business Phone Systems for Financial Services
In financial services, a phone call can be advice, an instruction or a complaint, and each may need a record. Blake Telecom has been providing business phone systems for financial services since 2004, with recording built around FCA rules and apps that follow advisers anywhere.
Where Client Trust Is Won or Lost on a Phone Call
Clients rarely ring a financial firm about something trivial. They are moving a pension, chasing a mortgage offer, questioning a charge or worried about markets, and they want to speak to someone who knows their situation.
If that call bounces around the office, sits in a queue with no explanation or lands with the wrong person, confidence slips quickly. In a sector built on trust, that matters.
Our cloud phone systems put clients through to their own adviser or team first time, record the conversations your rules require and keep every call on the firm’s number, even when advisers work from home.
What Makes Financial Calls Different
An independent adviser, a mortgage broker and an insurance intermediary run very different businesses. On the phone, though, they face the same three pressures, and most general business phone systems handle none of them particularly well.
Regulated Conversations
Advice, orders and agreed actions often happen by phone. Depending on your permissions, FCA rules may require those calls to be recorded and kept, whichever device the adviser uses.
Sensitive Personal Data
Calls can include income, health, account and family details. Access to recordings and call records should be limited to the people who genuinely need it.
Deadline and Rate Change Peaks
Tax year end, product deadlines and interest rate announcements all bring waves of calls. Queues, announcements and overflow routing stop clients being left to ring out.
FCA Call Recording Your Compliance Team Can Rely On
Firms carrying out certain investment activities must record relevant telephone conversations under the FCA’s rules in COBS 11.8, which follow MiFID II, and keep them for at least five years, or up to seven where the FCA asks.
Even where recording is not mandatory, mortgage, protection and insurance firms often record calls to evidence suitability, handle complaints fairly and show good outcomes under the Consumer Duty.
With our VoIP call recording, each call is held in 30 days warm storage, extendable to 180 days, with cold storage up to 10 years, comfortably covering FCA retention periods.
Please note: Your permissions decide which calls must be recorded, so confirm the position with your compliance officer and the FCA Handbook. Tell clients that calls are recorded, and follow ICO guidance on handling the recordings.
Phone System Features for Advisers and Brokers
Pick the tools that match your permissions and the way your advisers work, from compliant recording on every device to client records that open as the phone rings.
Compliant Call Recording
Record inbound and outbound calls automatically, with retention periods set to match your regulatory obligations.
Recording on Adviser Mobiles
Calls made through the mobile app are recorded too, so advisers working away from the office stay covered.
Recording Announcements
Play a short message before connecting, so every caller knows the conversation is being recorded.
Controlled Access to Recordings
Decide who can search, play and download recordings, keeping sensitive client calls away from unauthorised staff.
Existing client
Pension review, adviser direct dial
06:18
Client Records as the Phone Rings
Link calls with your CRM or back office system, where supported, so the adviser sees who is calling before answering.
Teams Calling for Advice Teams
Make and receive client calls inside Microsoft Teams if your firm already works there every day.
AI Summaries for File Notes
Turn suitable calls into a short summary of points discussed and actions agreed, ready to check and add to the client file.
Queues With Clear Announcements
Tell clients where they are in the queue during busy periods instead of leaving the phone to ring out.
We switch on what your firm needs now and add more as your client base, team or permissions change.
From Advice Call to Compliant Client File
Every advice call leaves a trail of work: a file note to write, a recording to keep, a next step to diarise. Done by hand, it eats into the time advisers should spend with clients.
CRM integration and AI-generated summaries shorten that trail, while your compliance team keeps full control of what is stored and who sees it.
Client Rings Their Adviser
The call reaches the adviser’s direct dial or their team, in the office or on the app.
Recording Starts Automatically
Relevant calls are recorded from the first word, with no button for anyone to forget.
Client File Opens
Where your CRM supports it, the client’s details appear before the adviser answers.
File Note Drafted
An AI-generated summary lists points discussed and agreed actions for the adviser to check.
When Your Client Line Needs a Contact Centre
Smaller advice firms rarely need a full contact centre. Larger brokers, lenders and insurers often do, and moving to one should not mean changing your numbers, apps or recording setup.
Financial Firms We Support
Financial services covers a wide spread of firms and permissions. Claims and customer service teams handling high call volumes may be better served by our phone systems for contact centres.
Independent Financial Advisers
Record advice calls, keep clients connected to their own adviser and give paraplanners a clear view of who is on the phone.
Wealth and Investment Managers
Meet COBS 11.8 recording duties for orders and instructions, with calls kept for as long as your policy requires.
Mortgage and Protection Brokers
Handle the rush when rates move, with queues, calls routed to the right broker and recordings that support suitability.
Insurance Brokers
Route new business, renewals and claims to separate teams, and keep a record of what clients were told about cover.
Pension and Retirement Specialists
Give older clients a patient, familiar route to their adviser, with recordings that show exactly what was explained.
Lenders and Credit Firms
Manage collections, applications and customer service lines with reporting that shows how quickly calls are answered.
Fintech and Payments Businesses
Scale support lines quickly as your customer base grows, with apps for remote teams and numbers that move with you.
Credit Unions and Community Lenders
Offer members a friendly local number, with calls reaching the right team whether staff are in a branch or at home.
Upgrading Without Disrupting Client Service
A phone system change in a regulated firm has to be planned carefully. Recordings must carry on without a gap, and clients should never notice the switch.
Where your handsets and equipment still work well, SIP trunking lets them carry digital calls, so one office or team can move at a time while the rest keep running.
After reviewing what you have today, we will recommend the least disruptive route for your firm, whether that is SIP trunking, a hosted system or going fully cloud.
Connectivity Fit for Regulated Work
Advice firms depend on cloud platforms, video meetings with clients, secure portals and recorded calls, all running over the same connection. A slow or unreliable line affects every one of them, so we plan connectivity and calling side by side.
Full Fibre for Advice Offices
Full fibre gives advice offices the capacity for recorded calls, client video meetings and cloud platforms at the same time.
FTTC and SoGEA for Smaller Branches
FTTC and SoGEA suit smaller branches and home based advisers, giving clear calls and steady access to your cloud platforms.
Leased Lines for High Call Volumes
A dedicated, uncontended line suits contact centres and larger firms where every minute of downtime affects clients.
One supplier for your phone system and your connection means one number to call if something goes wrong, and no finger pointing between providers.
How We Set Up a Phone System for a Regulated Firm
Before anything is switched on, we sit down with your compliance lead and your advisers, because the right setup depends on your permissions as much as your team size.
Identify Your Regulated Activities
We note which teams and conversations fall under recording rules, so nothing is recorded unnecessarily and nothing required is missed.
Map How Advisers Work
Office, home or client visits: we plan desk phones, apps and headsets so advisers stay reachable and recorded wherever they are.
- Regulated calls identified
- Retention period agreed
- Access rights signed off
Illustration only. The screen shows an example policy, not the actual system interface.
Agree Retention and Access
We set how long recordings are kept and who can hear them, matching your compliance policy rather than a default.
Prepare for Growth and Audits
New advisers, offices or permissions can be added easily, and recordings stay searchable when auditors or clients ask.
The result is a phone system your advisers find easy to use and your compliance team can stand behind.
Awards for the Cloud Platform We Use
Our financial services customers run on a cloud platform that analysts have repeatedly placed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service. You can read what verified users say on Gartner Peer Insights.
Stevie Awards - Achievement in Management, Telecommunications 2026
2026
Gartner Magic Quadrant
2025
Frost and Sullivan - Contact Centre as a Service Leader, Q2 2025
2025
TrustRadius Multiple Awards
2024
Stevie Awards - Gold Winner 2026
2026
These awards recognise the underlying platform, which Blake Telecom supplies, sets up and supports for UK firms.
Accreditations That Matter to Regulated Firms
Feedback From Our Customers
Director
Blake Telecom have revolutionised the way we operate. They have gone the extra mile in making the setup process painless and it was easy to install. Any questions are dealt with quickly and efficiently, and the staff are a pleasure to deal with. I truly wish we found them years ago. We recommend Blake Telecom to many of our suppliers and even customers whenever we can.
Director
Blake Telecom have been supplying our business communications for well over 10 years. We have found both their systems and support to be fully robust and they have given an excellent service throughout with value for money for their products. Their approach to helping our business has always been excellent from every aspect and I would highly recommend their services.
Director
Moving to rural office space, without the benefits of reasonable broadband speed, and without telephony services include, Blake Telecom directed us to alternatives and the solution we have is excellent. 4G Wi-Fi VoIP, serving our current needs and situation perfectly. The team were succinct in his explanation of what we could achieve, providing something promptly and getting this set up with minimum fuss and delay.
Director
Financial Services Phone System FAQs
Do financial advisers have to record phone calls?
It depends on your permissions. Firms carrying out investment activities covered by COBS 11.8, such as receiving and passing on client orders, must record relevant calls. Many other advisers record anyway to evidence suitability and handle complaints.
How long must FCA call recordings be kept?
Recordings covered by COBS 11.8 must usually be kept for at least five years, and up to seven where the FCA requests it. Our cold storage keeps recordings for up to 10 years.
What does MiFID II mean for call recording?
MiFID II introduced the recording rules that the FCA applies through COBS 11.8. They cover conversations intended to result in transactions, even when no transaction follows, including calls on mobile devices used for that work.
Can calls on advisers’ mobiles be recorded?
Yes. Calls made and received through our mobile app on the business number can be recorded in the same way as desk phone calls, so advisers working remotely stay covered.
Who can listen to our call recordings?
You decide. Access can be set so compliance staff hear everything, team leaders hear their own team and advisers hear only their own calls.
What storage comes with call recording?
Each recording is held in warm storage for 30 days as standard. You can extend that to 180 days, and cold storage packages run for up to 10 years.
Will it link to our CRM or back office system?
Integration is available with many widely used CRM platforms, bringing up client details as calls arrive. Let us know your system and we will check the integration options with you first.
Will clients still reach us on our current numbers?
In most cases, yes. Existing business phone numbers can usually be transferred, and we plan the move so recording carries on without a gap.
Can clients reach us during a broadband outage?
Calls can divert to advisers’ mobiles or another office agreed in advance, and calls made through the app can still be recorded, so client service carries on.
What do business phone systems for financial services cost?
Costs depend on user numbers, the recording and retention you need and your connection. You can compare options on our VoIP pricing page or ask for a quote for your firm.
Let’s Review How Your Firm Handles Calls
Whether you need FCA compliant recording, better call handling for advisers or a phone system that works from home as well as the office, we can show you what would suit your firm and how the move would work.
Our UK based team is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Reviewed by Glenda Jackson, Designer at Blake Telecom, on 25/09/2026.
Blake Telecom have been paramount to the growth of our business by continuing to offer our business the very highest level of service. The equipment we have been supplied has been extremely flexible allowing us to change needs. Blake Telecom's knowledge and expertise has been very professional and we look forward to working together on our future projects.