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To run adverts about mortgages or loans on Facebook in Australia, Meta will require organisations to complete verification and disclaimer steps.
Mortgage brokers who want to post Facebook advertisements will soon be subject to Meta’s enhanced authorisation requirements and are likely to be required to verify information about their business.
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From February 2025, advertisements promoting financial products or services will need to meet Meta’s verification requirements before being published on Meta’s platform.
The social media giant will also require organisations to complete on-ad disclaimer steps. That will mean that ads will have to contain disclaimers featuring the organisation paying for or benefiting from the ad.
Meta said the move is intended to “promote consumer safety”, combat fraud in financial products and services advertising, and, in some cases, comply with regulatory authorities.
How will it impact brokers?
Any organisations that want to post ads on Facebook promoting financial products and services – including mortgages, loans, and insurance products – may have to verify information about themselves, Meta said on its website.
Verification will include information about the ad beneficiary and payer, including their Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) information (unless otherwise exempt).
When asked what the process would be for brokers who are covered by Australian Credit Licences (ACLs) rather than AFSLs, Meta said: “Since mortgage brokers are not covered by the AFSL framework they can click ‘exempt’ when going through the verification flow.”
However, brokers will still need to complete the payer and beneficiary verification and disclaimer requirements for their adverts, the company told The Adviser.
Advertisers that self-select as exempt from requiring an AFSL will have an additional disclaimer featured on their ads: “AFS licence: exemption claimed”, Meta said.
All eligible financial services ads will need to contain a ‘Paid for By’ disclaimer, featuring the name of the individual or organisation paying for and/or benefiting from the ad.
The clickable disclaimer leads to a separate sheet with verified information about the beneficiary and payer, as well as the licence number or exemption. The disclaimer will be created during the ad creation process.
Advertisers can generally run ads without authorisation if they cover information about financial education, training, or skill building linked to applying for or managing loans.
MFAA backs Meta’s ad clampdown
The move by Meta comes as online fraud and Facebook scams grow in prevalence, with Australians losing more money to social media scams than any other contact method in the period from 1 January to 9 December 2024, according to Scamwatch.
Over 6,000 people reported losing $58.3 million to social media scams in the first 10 months of 2024.
Naveen Ahluwalia, executive — policy and legal at the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), said the industry body continues to support efforts by organisations to combat scam activity through initiatives such as the Australian Online Scams Code.
“The code is targeted at preventing the fraudulent promotion of specific financial products online, including via social media, which has led to substantial financial losses for Australians,” Ahluwalia said.
Ahluwalia said that Meta introduced authorisation, verification, and disclaimer requirements covering ads promoting financial products and services to meet its obligations under the code.
“These requirements are specifically designed to ensure only authorised advertisers promote regulated financial services and products. These rules primarily target risky activity such as finfluencing, use of deep fakes and celebrity-related scams on social media,” Ahluwalia said.
Ahluwalia said that Meta had highlighted a number of exceptions to its new verification requirements including ads relating to financial education, training, and skill building about how to apply for loans or manage them.
“Mortgage and finance brokers play a vital role in helping Australians to access credit. Many use Meta’s social media platforms to connect with their communities, share their services and importantly focus on educating Australians about their options,” she said.
“As such, the MFAA’s view is that these ads will likely fall under an exception to Meta’s new requirements.
“However, we encourage our members to let us know if they encounter any problems or obstacles, so we can follow this up with Meta and advocate on their behalf.”
In September, the Australian government put forward a new Scam Code Act to make telcos, banks, and social media platforms that fail to adequately protect their customers answerable to fines of up to $50 million.
The move to verify financial service advertising has already been made in Taiwan and the UK. However, the timing of the February changes in Australia comes ahead of the federal government passing the Scams Prevention Framework Bill, which will require digital platforms to verify advertisers.
Last week, the federal government also launched a TV and social media-driven campaign aimed at preventing scams by boosting awareness. Banks have also issued warnings encouraging shoppers to be extra vigilant to detect scammers.
[Related: Borrowers targeted in new financial scam]
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