As the MiFID II European regulations on investments loom over the horizon, more firms are bringing out tech offerings they say will ease the pain.

NASDAQ-listed Mobile security software firm BlackBerry, and VoxSmart, a mobile surveillance an compliance firm, have joined hands to work with firms trying to get ready for the European Union’s regulatory juggernaut known as MiFID II, which becomes law in January.

The businesses will provide financial services firms with the ability to capture, record, store and analyse mobile voice, text and third-party instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp and WeChat.

As heard by this news organisation at a recent conference it held in London, a major challenge for firms in complying with MiFID II is storing the vast amounts of communications, in some cases via social media, between investors and advisors. The regulations, which take effect at the start of 2018, demand that all financial services firms in Europe must keep records of all services, activities and transactions for at least five years. Records include all electronic and instant messaging communications, telephone conversations and text messages related to or intended to conclude in a transaction, even if one does not occur. The directive is designed, its framers say, to make financial markets in Europe more resilient, transparent and investor-friendly. There remain questions over how this regulation will fit with other rules, such as upcoming data protection standards in Europe. (See here.)

"Together with VoxSmart, we can enable businesses around the world to effortlessly capture conversations on endpoints including smartphones, wearables, tablets, and laptops," Florian Bienvenu, senior vice president of EMEA sales, BlackBerry, said. 

VSmart ™ is already used by several global investment banks and trading houses.