The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new rules around transaction reporting that could save companies tens of millions of pounds per year
UK businesses will be subject to less transaction reporting following the announcement of new rules made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA announced today (3 August) it will remove “unnecessary reporting” of transactions made to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from 65 to 52 as part of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).
The financial regulator stated this will help reduce regulatory burdens and save firms over £100m per year.
The regulator is also prioritising more accurate transaction reports by reducing the total amount per year, emphasising high-quality data will support the removal of duplicative and low-value reporting.
Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, said: “Transaction reports are the backbone of our market oversight work – they help us catch financial crime, monitor market stability and supervise firms effectively.
“By taking a smarter, streamlined approach to reporting, we’re giving firms meaningful cost relief while ensuring we continue to receive the accurate, high-quality data that keeps UK markets clean and competitive.”
The changes will take effect on 3 April 2028, to give businesses time to prepare, test and implement updated reporting systems.
FCA: Streamlining transaction reporting
Transaction reporting is the process of businesses gathering mass amounts of payment data (buyer/seller identities, prices, quantities, tarde records, etc.) to then be sent to the FCA’s Market Data Processor to then be processed by its Approved Reporting Mechanism.
The FCA said in its announcement of its new rules that transaction reports are “critical” to detect and investigate market abuse, and to supervise firms effectively.
Firms will now no longer have to report foreign exchange derivatives from transaction reporting, which FCA stated can reduce costs for 400 firms.
The regulator has removed the reporting of financial instruments, including bonds, equities, and certain derivatives, that are only traded on European Union (EU) trading venues. This is expected to save £32m for firms annually.
There is also a reduced window for reporting errors of transaction reports from five to three years, lowering the number of transaction reports that need to be resubmitted by a third.
The current annual cost, according to the FCA, of transaction reporting costs the MiFID industry £493m.
The FCA estimates the changes proposed will reduce the cost to approximately £385m, resulting in a net annual cost saving to industry of £108m.
The FCA has established the cross-industry Transaction and Post-trade Reporting Industry Harmonisation Task Force with the Bank of England. It held its inaugural meeting in July 2026.
