The FCA Boundary Card
Printed A6 double-sided. Pinned to every MEM financial coach's noticeboard. Templated as the closing slide of every Money Basics workshop. The single most important asset in Sprint 4 — get this wrong and we lose the right to operate the strand.
Why this card exists
The Financial Conduct Authority regulates financial advice, including recommendations on specific products (pensions, investments, mortgages, insurance). MEM Academy is NOT authorised by the FCA. Our coaches provide education, behavioural coaching, and signposting.
Crossing the boundary — even accidentally — exposes the coach personally, the company, and the client to regulatory action. The card makes the line visible at the moment of decision, every time.
Side 1 — What MEM coaches DO
✅ Educate on how UK money systems work: payslip, tax codes, NI, pensions auto-enrolment, Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction, marriage allowance.
✅ Coach behaviour: budgeting habits, automating savings, "pay yourself first", debt-snowball vs avalanche as concepts, conversations about money in relationships.
✅ Signpost to:
- MoneyHelper (free, government-backed): moneyhelper.org.uk
- StepChange (free debt advice charity): stepchange.org · 0800 138 1111
- Citizens Advice: citizensadvice.org.uk
- Turn2us (benefits/grants): turn2us.org.uk
- National Debtline: nationaldebtline.org · 0808 808 4000
- A qualified independent financial adviser (IFA) for regulated advice — directory at unbiased.co.uk or vouchedfor.co.uk
✅ Hold space for the emotional weight of money — shame, fear, scarcity, family pressure.
✅ Document behavioural commitments and progress with the learner's consent.
Side 2 — What MEM coaches DO NOT do
❌ Recommend a specific product: "You should open a Vanguard ISA." (Replace with: "An ISA might be relevant — speak to a qualified adviser before choosing a provider.")
❌ Tell anyone to consolidate, refinance, or take on a specific debt product.
❌ Advise on pensions beyond explaining auto-enrolment and the existence of the State Pension. ("Should I leave my workplace pension?" → IFA, every time.)
❌ Advise on investments, crypto, stocks, ISAs, SIPPs. ("Should I put £5k into the S&P 500?" → IFA, every time.)
❌ Advise on insurance beyond explaining what types exist. ("Should I take critical-illness cover?" → IFA.)
❌ Advise on mortgages beyond explaining how they work. ("Should I remortgage now?" → mortgage broker / IFA.)
❌ Recommend a debt-management plan, IVA, DRO, or bankruptcy. Even when it's obviously the right answer — route to StepChange or National Debtline, who ARE authorised.
❌ Manage anyone's money. Coaches never see bank logins, never move money, never hold money.
❌ Sell anything. No coach has a commission, kickback, or affiliate relationship with any financial product or provider.
The two test questions before any sentence leaves your mouth
- "Am I recommending a specific product?" If yes → stop, signpost.
- "Could this be quoted back to me in a regulator's letter?" If you're not sure, signpost.
The phrase to know cold
"That's a regulated-advice question. I'm not the right person — but I can introduce you to who is. Want me to walk you through who to call?"
Documentation discipline
- DO document the behavioural commitment and the signpost given.
- DO NOT document any specific financial recommendation, even one the learner mentioned to you.
- DO NOT record amounts, balances, or account details unless the learner volunteers them AND you have a clear coaching reason to capture (e.g. tracking a savings goal). Default: don't store.
- DO log every signpost (date, organisation, reason) — this is the audit trail that protects you.
Safeguarding overrides
If the learner discloses:
- Active suicidal ideation → stop, Samaritans 116 123, EAP, GP. Money conversation pauses.
- Domestic financial abuse / coercion → safeguarding pathway, Surviving Economic Abuse 0808 1968845, refuge.org.uk.
- Modern slavery / forced labour debt → Modern Slavery Helpline 08000 121 700.
These overrides supersede everything else on this card.
Closing line (delivered at the end of every workshop)
"Everything we covered today is education. None of it is financial advice. If you want advice on a specific product or a specific decision, the routes on the back of your card are where you go. We can help you think clearly. We can't tell you what to do with your money — that's yours."
Cross-cutting promise Every employee seat funds a free seat for someone leaving prison. The card lives in our justice-leaver coaching too, because the boundary doesn't change depending on who's in the room. memacademy.org/corporate/financial-wellbeing-employees