One financial services phone system across four regulators
Financial services communications operate under the most comprehensive regulatory framework of any industry outside healthcare. Every call, text, and message between your firm and a customer or between registered persons is subject to retention, supervision, and audit requirements.
These aren't recommendations. They're statutory requirements. Non-compliance creates regulatory action, fines, and licence risk.
FINRA Rule 4511 Requires broker-dealers to preserve books and records mandated by FINRA and SEC rules, including all communications "relating to the firm's business as such." For firms subject to FINRA Rule 3170, this means recording every telephone conversation between registered persons and customers — retained for three years minimum, with the first two years in an easily accessible location.
SEC Rule 17a-4 Mandates that registered broker-dealers retain communications using either non-rewriteable, non-erasable (WORM) technology or an electronic recordkeeping system with robust audit trail capability. Records must be immediately accessible, searchable, and producible to regulators upon request. Retention: three years for most communications, six years for certain records.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Requires publicly traded companies to retain audit-related communications for seven years. Financial services firms subject to SOX must ensure their communications platform supports this extended retention alongside FINRA/SEC requirements.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Mandates safeguards for nonpublic personal information, including access controls, encryption in transit and at rest, and vendor management programmes ensuring third parties meet the same security standards.
Call recording for compliance: what to capture and how long to keep it
FINRA and SEC requirements are explicit about which communications must be captured and how long they must be retained. Here's the framework every financial institution must follow:
Communications subject to mandatory recording
- Customer-facing calls (all broker-dealer customer communications)
- Order-related conversations (placing, modifying, cancelling trades)
- Advisory discussions (investment advice, recommendations, suitability)
- Complaint handling (any expression of customer dissatisfaction)
- Internal compliance discussions (supervision, review, policy enforcement)
Retention periods
- 3 years minimum — FINRA Rule 4511: most business-related communications
- 6 years — SEC Rule 17a-4: account opening documents, trade confirmations, certain correspondence
- 7 years — SOX: audit-related communications for public companies
- 5 years — NFA Rule 2-10: commodities firms under "taping rules"
Storage requirements
- WORM or equivalent electronic recordkeeping system
- Immediate accessibility (producible within seconds to minutes)
- Searchable and indexed for regulatory examination
- Tamper-evident audit trail of all access and modifications
RingOffice's retention policy engine applies these rules automatically — by user role, department or call type — so the right retention is enforced without manual work.
Security controls for regulated financial communications
The controls that keep client communications captured, protected and producible — without claiming certifications we don't hold.
From compliance risk to compliance confidence
Consistent broker-dealer communications across every branch and device
Financial institutions operate across branches, with advisors working remotely, and customer-facing teams distributed geographically. RingOffice unifies communications across all locations on one platform.
Branch offices
Every branch location connected to the same platform. Call recording policies, retention rules, and security controls configured centrally and applied uniformly. No location-by-location configuration required.
Remote advisors
Advisors working from home use the RingOffice mobile or desktop app. Client calls recorded identically to in-office calls. Same retention applies. Same supervision capabilities. Compliance does not depend on physical office presence.
Mobile workforce
Loan officers, insurance agents, and relationship managers on mobile devices remain fully compliant. RingOffice app captures all client communications with proper consent disclosure and retention.
Regulatory consistency
One audit. One compliance review. One set of policies enforced across all locations and devices. Examiners see unified communications infrastructure, not fragmented legacy systems requiring per-location documentation.
Built for recordkeeping and supervision
Enterprise archiving for regulatory-grade compliance
For financial institutions requiring immutable archiving, AI-powered supervision, and eDiscovery workflows, RingOffice integrates with the two leading compliance platforms.
Communications you can stand behind at exam time
Automatic recording, configurable retention, North American storage with access controls, full audit logging, and leading archiving integrations — configured and managed for you. Tell us your firm's requirements and we'll show you exactly what it costs.
From fragmented records to one searchable archive
Compliance gaps and slow examiner responses come from fragmented record-keeping — calls in one system, archives in another, mobile and messaging uncaptured. Moving to one managed platform with integrated archiving changes that:
- Examiner requests answered from one searchable archive in minutes, not days
- Calls captured identically on desk phones, mobiles and remote apps
- Retention applied automatically by role, department and call type
- Supervision and eDiscovery unified across voice, SMS, video and messaging
Financial services compliance questions
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