The Financial Conduct Authority has urged firms to register to use its current notifications and applications platform by the beginning of next year.
The Connect platform is used by the industry to supply mandatory annual updates to the City watchdog and companies must use the service to confirm the accuracy of their details each year, even if circumstances remain unchanged from the previous year.
The platform allows firms to submit applications and notifications, including for approved persons, appointed representatives, passporting, claims management temporary permissions and Mifid II notifications.
The watchdog has set a deadline of January 2020 for registration to the service and at which point all firms must be signed up to the Connect platform - the FCA said it will be calling, emailing and writing to those which have not yet done so.
The FCA requires a company's principal user for the Connect platform to either hold a controlled function, senior manager function or a senior insurance manager function, such as a director, partner or compliance.
The regulator said this is because part of a firm's registration process includes selecting a principal user who can potentially cancel its authorisation.
The watchdog first announced it would be replacing its previous online notifications and applications system with Connect in 2014.
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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