What is Financial Conduct Authority?

The Financial Conduct Authority is the UK regulator that authorises financial firms and checks they follow its rules. A firm has to be authorised before it can serve UK customers, and its licence number appears on the public register.

That reference lets you check a provider directly. Charles Stanley Direct is authorised with reference 124412, EBC Financial Group with 927552, and Chip with 1005114.

A licence number is not a promise of profit. It tells you the firm sits inside a rules-based framework, so you can check a provider's status and complaint record before you open an account.