The vast majority of French financial market participants have failed to address this regulatory requirement, mainly because of the lack of conviction in the commonly applied technical solutions and also due to the perceived clash between MiFID II / MAR and GDPR and workers’ responses privacy. French compliance teams, therefore, have become wary of the blanket imposition of voice recording and monitoring.

While privacy is crucial, the low adoption of mobile recording policies and systems in France’s financial markets is in danger of compromising the security of the global banking community. In most other major financial hubs, regulatory bodies are resolute in the importance of implementing MiFID II with the goal of rooting out banking fraud and irregularity. According to research released this year, France is three to four years behind. Truphone, a mobile communications specialist, believes that better technology is the key to the country’s reluctance to enforce these crucial regulations, as it launches Truphone for Finance in France.

Today, a new suite of mobile communication and compliance solutions is launched in France, which aims to help the nation’s financial institutions and regulators meet the French market’s regulatory obligations around financial surveillance.

Truphone for Finance, which already supports the world’s 10 largest investment banks with global communications solutions, provides mobile connectivity via a SIM, eSIM or application, on a recorded or non-recorded basis all underpinned by industry-leading and award-winning customer support. Its technology is designed to empower and protect employees to work efficiently and securely, while complying with regulations.

However, both regulators and financial institutions in France are fast coming to realise that they need to embrace recording if they are ever to defeat misconduct in the financial community and restore trust in the institution as a whole. It is crucial therefore for sceptical employee representatives to understand how a modern, compliant voice surveillance technology, including mobile phone recording, reduces the operational risks faced by employees, protects them from regulatory action and makes it easier for them to achieve their work objectives.

Truphone believes that instead of seeing compliance with voice surveillance regulations as an intrusion into employee privacy, it is helpful to think of these technologies as ways to give employees the tools they need to do their jobs, removing any risk they may be under pressure to use unauthorised channels simply to get things done.

Paul Liesching, Global Sales Manager, Financial Markets at Truphone, comments: “Because we operate in several countries, we are able to easily spot vast differences in the adoption and enforcement of the MiFID II recording regulation, even though it applies across the EU. In Germany, for example, financial institutions are aware and proficient in the technology needed to enforce the regulations but are still reluctant to implement it. In France, a few big banks are beginning to adopt measures but in general, many players are struggling to find and implement the appropriate technology.

“We are far from having the entire sector in accordance with the regulations, contrary to what one might think. However, it is undoubtedly true that the impact of potential fines is far greater than the cost of establishing systems for recording communication channels of all types. We want to support the French financial markets to remove this exposure and, above all, show them the simplicity of the implementation. "