FINRA is sunsetting Web EFT—what you should know

Managing producer compliance and credentialing is inherently complicated—that’s why we’re working to make it easier. In this blog series, a team of Vertafore regulatory experts explore current topics in compliance and the impact on insurers. Read more about the sunsetting of Web EFT.

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What if I haven’t migrated to the FINRA API platform ahead of Web EFT sunsetting?

If you hadn’t heard the news, FINRA plans to sunset the current Web EFT service in 2024. This will mean the end of the current annual subscription model and the complete retirement of all XML batch files uploaded or downloaded via fileX. This could occur as early as the end of Q1 next year, so firms currently subscribing to Web EFT should be preparing for a migration before service ends.

What’s the significance of Web EFT?

Web EFT, which stands for Electronic Filing Transfer, is a secure file transfer application that enables efficient online filings and allows firms to receive daily and weekly data downloads, including accounting transactions and exam results. These are crucial, routine downloads that underpin the internal data systems for many insurers. This data comes directly from the Central Registration Depository (CRD) and the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) systems; together, these two databases contain licensing and disciplinary or disclosure histories on nearly one million securities professionals and investment adviser representatives.

In short, it’s a tremendous amount of vital, accessible information that could become inaccessible if you don’t prepare.

What is replacing Web EFT?

Firms that do not want to lose access to this business-critical data will need to migrate to the new FINRA API platform. It’s important to note that a different fee structure is in place, currently set at $1,650 per month. Insurers can get a more detailed information on the total cost of FINRA API here.

FINRA support for Web EFT is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET at (800) 321-6273. You can also reach out to WebEFT.Support@finra.org.

Next Steps

A trusted credential management solution can help insurers navigate migrations like this

The simplest way to protect your credentialing and submissions workflows that depend on data streams like these is to work with Vertafore, the leading technology partner for compliance management. Our modern compliance management solutions offer carriers a dependable safeguard in their effort to keep up with FINRA service changes. By relying on a trusted solution to deliver access to the forms and data associated with producer credentialing, insurers can enjoy uninterrupted downloads from CRD and IARD throughout Web EFT’s sunsetting.

Learn more about Sircon Producer Central

Dan Kolakowski

Manager, Regulatory Compliance

Dan's entire professional career has been in insurance and financial technology. Before Vertafore, he worked for an insurance technology company focused on commercial insurance building underwriting/risk analysis platforms and policy/program benchmarking analytics. He joined Vertafore's Product Management department in 2012 and served nine years as Senior Product Owner, working on software solutions for insurance carriers, agencies, individual agents, securities firms, and state departments of insurance. Read more.