The rule.
“should be provided in an appropriate language in addition to English”
Verbatim extract, read on 4 November 2026 from the source below. Everything else on this page is NorthPoint’s plain-English reading.
What it requires.
- The FCA expects firms to take account of the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) when designing digital promotions, in particular how the risk warning is displayed.
- Where intended or likely recipients are unlikely to understand English well, the risk warning or risk summary is provided in an appropriate language as well as English.
Who it applies to.
Firms designing digital financial promotions — and digital personalised risk warnings and risk summaries — for restricted mass market investments, including cryptoassets.
Common violations in marketing copy.
Grey 9 px risk text on a gradient banner
Fails the contrast and legibility the WCAG reference points to.
A Polish-language campaign carrying only the English warning
Recipients unlikely to understand English need the warning in their language too.
Non-compliant vs compliant.
“A 6-second video ad with the warning on screen for one second in small grey text.”
“The warning in body-size text with WCAG-level contrast, on screen for the whole ad, and in the campaign's language as well as English.”
Related rules.
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COBS 4.12A.11R(1)(d) · United Kingdom
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COBS 4 Annex 1R, section 8 · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.12A.28R · COBS 10.1.2R · United Kingdom
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EU and UK side by side.
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UK cryptoasset financial promotions (FSMA s21, the FPO and FCA COBS).
Source.
| Instrument | FCA Handbook, COBS (as amended by the Cryptoasset Financial Promotions Instrument 2023, FCA 2023/27) |
|---|---|
| Provision | COBS 4.12A.37G · 4.12A.41G |
| Primary source | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/instrument/2023/FCA_2023_27.pdf |
| Official text | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/4/ |
| Read from | FCA 2023/27 as made (in force 8 October 2023), read from the FCA Handbook instrument PDF; the consolidated Handbook page is a script-rendered app the build session could not read |
| Checked |
This page is general, sourced information for marketing teams, not legal advice. The examples are written by NorthPoint to illustrate the rule; for a binding view on your own promotion, retain qualified counsel in the jurisdiction concerned.