Google has announced it is updating its financial products and services policy in order to extend its verification program for financial services advertisers to new countries and markets. The company wants to use this means to create a new layer of security against “bad actors” and will help further safeguard our network from financial scams.
The Tech Giant always request that to complete one or more verification programs so that users can feel safe and confident about the ads they see. The verification program is Google’s unified verification program that consolidates identity and business operations verification in a single flow.
It comprises a series of steps that advertisers will be required to follow and complete. Under this program, advertisers will be asked to provide basic information about their business and identity. Advertisers will have 30 days to initiate the verification and another 30 days to complete it.
The verification layer sits on top of Google’s financial products and services policy. It involves a local financial regulator that advertisers must show they are authorised by in order to have their financial services ads accepted by Google. This adds a layer of security against the adtech giant accepting and running ads for crypto investment scams and similar things.
As part of a planned rollout of the program, Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan will be the first countries to adopt the requirement. Google plans to expand the verification requirements to new countries and areas “in the coming months.”
Advertisers for financial services in the United Kingdom must show that they are authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The three new markets will have the same regulatory agencies in place. In the announcement, Google noted that advertisers wishing to promote financial products and services in these markets would be able to apply for verification by the end of June, with the new policy taking effect on August 30, 2022.
Google hasn’t provided any data to back up its claim that the policy change has led to a big drop in reports of financial scam ads in the UK market. Instead, it has only provided a global number (58.9 million) of ads that it blocked or removed in 2021 for violating its financial services policies. This number comes from its 2021 Ads Safety Report.
Financial fraud is something consumers can fall victim to since it’s often hard to tell the difference between fraud and search ads. As reported by AdWeek, “The Singapore police reported in January that, since December 2021, financial scams accounted for the loss of nearly SG$495,000 (nearly $360,000 USD) due to consumers dialing a bank hotline found in a Google Search ad. Google also found that it blocked or removed more than 58.9 million ads that violated its financial services policies in 2021 alone.
Before launching the financial ads verification policy in the UK, the Tech Giant was under pressure from the FCA to stop scams. The regulator threatened legal action if Google continued to accept financial ads that hadn’t been checked.
