The new MaPS Standards: what they are and why they have been updated
Published on:
24 April 2026
An updated version of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) Standards has been published, approved by the FCA, and went into effect on 1 April 2026. Here, Dan Portus, Head of Customer Experience and Quality, explains what these Standards are and what they mean for organisations working with us.
What are the MaPS Standards?
The MaPS Standards set out minimum expectations for services we either:
- deliver directly, or
- commission through delivery partners.
The intention is that by meeting the standards, services delivered through MaPS will provide a consistent, high-quality experience for our consumers.
Why do the Standards exist?
We are required to set, monitor and enforce these standards by the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018. The aim is ensuring that our services help those most in need and improve consumers’ financial knowledge.
What do the Standards cover?
The new standards are split into three key areas:
- designing services and creating capability
- delivering services to consumers
- managing the service.
You can download the full Standards document (PDF, 4.7MB)Opens in a new window, which goes into detail on each of our ten standards.
Why have the Standards been updated?
The FCA oversees our monitoring and enforcement of the MaPS Standards, and we’re expected to formally review and update them every three years.
Updating the Standards gives us an opportunity to reflect new ways of working, industry changes, technological advances and changes in customer expectations.
Throughout the three years leading up to these updated standards, we have been engaging and collaborating with our delivery partners to gather feedback. This included a consultation on a draft version of the Standards to help us refine them further.
These updated Standards reflect three years of change, communication and collaboration, and were approved by the FCA in October 2025.
What does it mean for organisations working with MaPS?
By collaborating with delivery partners we’ve aimed to make the updated Standards accessible, understandable and simple to evidence.
We encourage organisations working with us to review the updated Standards to understand what the expectations are and how they’ve changed.
We know it’s a lot of information, so we’ve also published some supporting materials to help.
What support is there to understand the new Standards?
Toolkits
We developed supporting toolkits that explain the minimum threshold of compliance of each individual standard and for specific services.
You can download the comprehensive version of the toolkit (PDF, 862KB)Opens in a new window, or view versions with information specific to:
- debt advice services (PDF, 722 KB)Opens in a new window
- guidance services (PDF, 651KB)Opens in a new window
The toolkits were published after a period of review and refinement, with feedback from partners reflected in the final version. They are designed to be a supportive, clear and readily available resource for stakeholders.
Spotlight videos
Our team have also produced a series of short videos spotlighting standards that have more complex assessment criteria.
In these videos, we explain more about the minimum expectations for the highlighted standard and examples of how it might apply. There is also an explainer on how some standards cross over, and how not meeting some standards can impact others.
Where can I find out more?
Our MaPS Standards page has links to all of our documents and toolkits, and is kept updated with the latest information.
You can also:
- sign up to our stakeholder newsletterOpens in a new window
- follow us on LinkedInOpens in a new window.
If you have any questions, our team will be happy to answer them. Email us at [email protected].
