The FCA has published the Mills Review: AI and the future of retail financial services, setting out how artificial intelligence is expected to reshape retail markets, consumer behaviour and system‑wide risk by 2030.
The report, led by FCA Executive Director Sheldon Mills, says retail financial activity is shifting from “human‑led, episodic” interactions to services that are “AI‑enabled, continuous and delegated”, with both firms and consumers expected to rely more heavily on autonomous systems.
The Review warns that advances in capability and the emergence of agentic AI could change how money moves across markets. It states that if consumers delegate financial activity to AI agents, “continuous movement of money could occur as those agents optimised for individual customers”, potentially altering pricing, product design and market dynamics.
Shared reliance on similar models and datasets could also generate “correlated behaviour, herding, opacity and common points of failure across the financial services system”.
The report highlights risks from concentrated upstream technology markets, noting that dependence on a small number of model providers and hyperscalers could affect “competition, resilience, sovereignty and smaller firms’ access to advanced capability on fair terms”.
It also warns that control of AI‑mediated consumer interfaces may influence “which products are visible, how choices are ranked and where value is captured”, reshaping competition across retail markets.
The Review’s publication comes as the FCA advances two other major strands of its technology agenda. Former interim chief executive Chris Woolard is establishing a taskforce on digital assets adoption, with the group examining industry readiness and regulatory barriers.
The FCA has also finalised the UK’s crypto rulebook, setting out requirements for trading, custody and stablecoins ahead of the 2027 regime. The rules introduce financial resilience standards and market integrity obligations for crypto firms.
Capital Pioneer reported the FCA describing the package as “a significant moment for crypto regulation in the UK”.
Together, the Mills Review, Woolard’s taskforce and the new crypto regime outline the FCA’s direction on AI, digital assets and market innovation. Mills writes that AI “cannot now be ‘switched off’” and says regulators must prepare for a future in which firms and consumers delegate more financial activity to autonomous systems.
