FINRA requirements should be taken seriously, and only some CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software products give you the service required to support this compliance. That’s why we gathered some of the best FINRA-compliant CRM solutions for you to consider.
What is FINRA?
FINRA is the abbreviation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It is a non-governmental and non-profit institution that rules brokers and broker-dealer firms with specific rules and regulations.
FINRA compliance requirements
With FINRA, data should be easily accessible, and a financial services organization is expected to be able to hand over audit trails for the usage and destruction of specific data.
This is just one of the regulatory FINRA rules. This is why FINRA-compliant CRM software products are a vital component in supporting these regulations since they store data on customer and client relationships, electronic records, and electronic communications for specific retention periods to meet recordkeeping requirements.
FINRA is dedicated to protecting investors and safeguarding market integrity in a manner that facilitates vibrant capital markets
FINRA
What is needed for FINRA WORM compliance?
One of the most essential regulations the institution requires is that data be securely saved, encrypted, and stored safely in a Write Once Read Many (WORM) storage facilities. Backing up CRM data into a WORM-compliant data store is also essential for financial services organizations.
What is FINRA-compliant CRM?
Many businesses widely use CRM tools worldwide to run operations smoothly and professionally. However, FINRA expects firms to use CRM tools that are compliant with the institution.
FINRA-compliant CRM software tools must meet a couple of stringent requirements, mainly targeting customer security regarding record-keeping and reporting. Security measures are the prominent requirements that FINRA-compliant CRM software products should adhere to. Broker-dealer firms must keep records of their customer transactions and do it securely, preventing any breaches and such. The institution does not allow CRM software that doesn’t meet the requirements.
Importance/benefits of CRM in financial services
Customer relationship management might bring different advantages to each industry, but the goals are pretty much the same across the board. Financial services companies also use CRM tools to improve user experience and boost their sales and business financially while supporting FINRA and SEC (Security Exchange Act) requirements.
Customer experience
Most successful businesses, independent from the industry they operate in, aim to satisfy customer needs. Without customers, businesses will fail and eventually stop their operations. That is why tools such as FINRA-compliant CRM software, which meet the regulatory body’s requirements, need to meet customer expectations as these requirements are prepared by taking the people’s needs into consideration.
Store and analyze data
Financial service CRMs help store customer data, and then it is crucial for the organization to consume and analyze it. By analyzing customer datasets, teams can craft personalized reach-outs, such as emails, SMSs, or social media posts.
Improve customer retention
CRM solutions are designed to help companies maintain and track customer relationships so that they can keep existing customers happy to improve customer retention while being able to support adding new customers to their base effectively.
Data security
Having FINRA-compliant CRM software will also prevent common security issues, which is essential to maintaining customer trust. These CRM solutions would also benefit greatly from FINRA WORM compliance data storage so that customer data is stored safely and securely.
Best CRM for financial advisors
Here’s our list of candidates for the best CRM for financial services organizations:
Salesforce
Salesforce is one of the most well-known CRM solutions in the financial industry. They help businesses manage and record their customer portfolio, interactions, and the interplay of their clients. Salesforce also offers various features, including workflow automation and milestone tracking with a user-friendly dashboard.
Zoho
The best part of Zoho is that it offers a free subscription that allows you to use some of its basic features. If you are not looking for anything fancy, Zoho’s free subscription plan could work for you. It is also as easy as downloading an app to your phone if you want to add more applications to your service. However, some paid tools were designed for larger organization/enterprise businesses, and those tools won’t be optimal for small business use.
UGRU
The last on our list is UGRU, a very effective financial planning tool. It is mostly used in wealth management since it has a couple of financial planning tools. You can track liquid assets or plan retirement income with this FINRA-compliant CRM software. The user interface might be harder to learn at first, but the solution is helpful once you learn how to leverage it effectively.
Data backup is critical for FINRA compliance.
No matter which of the FINRA-compliant CRM software solutions you choose to use, you cannot overlook the need for backing up and protecting your FINRA-compliant CRM data. For example, in this case study, you’ll discover how this FinTech company supported their FINRA WORM-compliance regulatory needs by backing up their Salesforce data in a WORM-compliant data store.
Supporting FINRA / WORM Compliance needs
Discover how the leader in FinTech payments is doing this with GRAX
