PS26/15: FCA finalises transaction reporting overhaul, 13 fewer fields, FX derivatives out, new rules live April 2028
The FCA has finalised a new UK transaction reporting regime, cutting fields from 65 to 52 and removing FX derivatives from scope. If you submit transaction reports, you need to start planning now.
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Action required — investment firms, trading venue operators, ARMs, and other firms submitting transaction reports.
PS26/15, published on 3 August 2026, finalises a new UK transaction reporting framework to replace the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) rules that have been in place since 2018. The Treasury committed to repealing and replacing those rules with something more proportionate and Handbook-based; this is the result.
The headline numbers are worth knowing. Reporting fields drop from 65 to 52. FX derivatives are removed from scope entirely, cutting costs for over 400 UK firms. Seven million financial instruments that are only tradeable on EU venues are also removed from the obligation. The default back-reporting period — the window within which the FCA can require resubmission of historical reports — falls from 5 years to 3 years, reducing resubmission volumes by a third. Taken together, the FCA expects these changes to save firms more than £100m annually.
The new regime comes into force on 3 April 2028. The FCA is explicit that affected firms should begin planning now: reviewing reporting logic, mapping the impact of scope and field changes, and preparing for the revised technical infrastructure. A draft schema, validation rules, and new guidelines will be published for consultation in October 2026; that exercise will also cover transitional provisions and consequential Handbook amendments. From 3 August 2026 until April 2028, the FCA will take a flexible supervisory approach to some areas, though the precise scope of that flexibility will be defined in the October consultation.
If you are not an investment firm, trading venue operator, approved reporting mechanism (ARM, a firm authorised to submit transaction reports on behalf of others), or other market participant in this space, there is nothing here for you. If you are, the October schema consultation is your first concrete milestone: that is when the full reprogramming scope will become clear.
