15 Feb 2023

  • Financial Services

Shifting the Consumer Duty mindset – when will it happen for you?

Graph showing mindset shifts and how how we anticipate firms’ attitudes will change between July 2022 and July 2024

Most retail FS firms are in a sweat about the July implementation deadline. But I have an optimistic hunch: it will soon become clear that the Consumer Duty is an opportunity as well as an obligation.

July 2023 is looming large across Financial Services.

There are no guarantees, but while the bar remains high (a ‘step change’ is still expected), the tone of the FCA’s latest Consumer Duty update suggests that it may be pragmatic about timings.

My optimistic hunch is that as July passes the panic will wane, creating space for different and more aspirational conversations.

An infographic with a timeline of emojis starting with confused and upset and as time goes by and the consumer duty deadline passes, progressing to a place of understanding and happiness
The Consumer Duty mindset shift – how we anticipate firms’ attitudes will change.

Among firms that have embraced the spirit of the duty, the moment will arrive when changes made to reduce regulatory risk actually turn out to have improved commercial KPIs such as customer satisfaction, acquisition/retention, and/or reduced demand on customer service teams.

It will be clearer that what’s best for the customer is best for business too and that regulatory obligations and commercial objectives aren’t inescapably at odds. More people will see the Consumer Duty as an opportunity – as something to embed rather than a set of things to fix before a deadline.

My prediction is that appetite will increase for the user-centred practice that delivers precisely these kinds of improvements. And we’ll start to see the ‘mindset shift’ that the FCA wants to deliver.

At cxpartners, we’re helping businesses to both plant and grow seeds for this change now.

Learn more about Shifting the Consumer Duty mindset – when will it happen for you?

Stu Charlton

Reach out to Stu Charlton

Strategic Director

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