For UK compliance officers + AML teams
FCA firm verification for UK compliance officers
FCA Connect is the regulator's public lookup tool, but it's built for one-off checks, not for compliance workflows that need to verify a firm's authorisation status before every transaction. Stratum's FCA Firm Verification API fits the workflow you actually run: pass an FRN, get back the firm's authorisation status, permissions matrix, key individuals, and the FCA Register list-version timestamp in one JSON response. Sub-200ms p95 on cached firms; ~600ms on a cold pull. Audit-trail-ready: every response carries the list-version timestamp the regulator can re-verify against.
What the API returns
Each request to /v1/fca/firms/{frn} returns the firm's full authorisation profile: status (Authorised / Withdrawn / Cancelled / In Default), permissions matrix mapped to FCA Handbook references, key individuals (CF/SMF holders), AR/principal mapping where applicable, and the most-recent register update timestamp. Pair the response with /v1/fca/sm-cr/{frn}/directory for SM&CR Certified Person cross-checks. The response shape stays stable across releases (additive changes only); the OpenAPI spec is published at /docs/fca-verification.
How compliance officers use it
Drop the API into your AML CRM (Persona, Alloy, Onfido) or your bespoke onboarding pipeline as a single call. Each new partner / counterparty / introducer gets verified at onboarding + on every renewal cycle. Daily polling catches in-life permission changes that the annual review misses — a typical workflow polls every monitored FRN at 06:00 UTC and diffs the response against yesterday's snapshot. The audit trail sits next to the rest of the partner record so MLR-2017 inspection lands cleanly.
Why per-call pricing matters
Sanctions / KYC tooling typically prices for enterprise (£2k+/year minimum + per-call fees on top). For a small compliance team running 50-200 FCA checks per month, those subscriptions are the wrong shape. Stratum's per-call pricing means you pay £1.95 per check at the entry tier, £0.99 at 100-pack, £0.59 at 1000-pack — no monthly minimum. The cost scales with your actual workload, not with a vendor's revenue target.
Frequently asked
How fresh is the data?
Live — every request hits the FCA Register API. We cache for 60 seconds to absorb burst patterns; pass `?fresh=1` to bypass the cache. The FCA Register itself updates within ~24 hours of an authorisation change.
Do you cover Appointed Representatives + principal mapping?
Yes. The response includes principals + ARs. Use `/v1/fca/firms/{frn}/ar-mapping` for the relationship graph + permission inheritance.
How do I match a partner without an FRN?
Pass `?name=` to the search endpoint. We return ranked candidates with confidence scores for human review. Best practice: never auto-match on name alone for a sanctions-adjacent counterparty.
Is this a substitute for a full AML check?
No. FCA verification confirms the firm is authorised + names the permissions. A full AML check screens individuals against sanctions + PEP + adverse media — pair with /v1/sanctions/screen for that.
How do you handle de-authorised firms?
The response includes `status` + the date of the status change. Surfacing this on the partner dashboard is a 5-minute integration; daily-poll diff catches it within 24 hours.
What's the SLA?
Standard tier targets 99.9% availability, sub-200ms p95 on cached firms. Pro tier (£14.95-£39.95) carries 99.95% with a 3s p95 ceiling + named-contact support.