%20(1).avif)
.avif)
Choosing a phone system for your financial firm involves more than comparing call quality and monthly fees.
You also need to consider what happens to client conversations after the call ends or a text arrives.
Can your firm retrieve those records during a review? Who can access them? And what happens when an advisor leaves?
However, providers offer different recording, archiving, and supervision capabilities. A business phone subscription alone doesn't tell you which features you're buying.
Below, we compare five phone systems, analyzing their features, limitations, and suitability for your firm's financial communication compliance needs.
Table of Contents
1. What makes a good phone system for financial professionals?
2. Best phone systems for financial services
3. Phone system for finance: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
4. Pick a phone system built for financial compliance
What makes a good phone system for financial professionals?
Your phone system should make client communication easy and give your firm reliable records for review.
But, before choosing a provider, examine these features and confirm exactly what your subscription provides.
- Business calling and texting: Choose a dedicated business number that advisors can use on their existing devices. Check mobile and desktop access, number porting, voicemail, call transfers, and phone menus. Clients should have a consistent number to contact your firm.
- Automatic call recording: Check whether the system automatically records incoming and outgoing business calls. Also, ask which call types it excludes and whether employees can pause recording. Recording announcements should align with your firm's consent procedures and the relevant jurisdictions.
- Call and text archiving: Recording a conversation does little good if the file disappears before you need it. Check retention periods for recordings, SMS, MMS, and attachments. Then confirm whether the subscription provides archiving or requires a separate paid service.
- Record protection: Ask how the archive prevents unauthorized changes or deletion during the retention period. Request documentation explaining its preservation controls, audit trails, and administrator permissions. A downloadable recording folder alone does not demonstrate adequate protection for your firm's records.
- Search and export: Your reviewers should be able to locate conversations by date, advisor name, phone number, or message content. Also, check export formats and metadata. While at it, test how you would retrieve a complete client conversation for an examination or complaint.
- Administrative access: Look for permissions that let authorized reviewers examine business communications. Ask how administrators manage recording settings and document account changes. Furthermore, confirm what happens to numbers, recordings, and messages when an advisor leaves or loses a device.
- Shared number access: If assistants answer client calls or texts, check how shared numbers work. Confirm who can read message history, return calls, and manage voicemail. Also, test call routing during business hours, absences, and periods when several new clients call simultaneously.
- Total subscription cost: Compare plans that provide calling, texting, recording, and the retention period you require. Add archive subscriptions, storage charges, registration fees, and usage costs.
Finally, check minimum user commitments and annual contract terms if any.
Best phone systems for financial services
The five providers below offer different combinations of business calling, texting, and record preservation.
Here’s how their features, subscription requirements, and limitations compare for financial professionals evaluating their available options.
iPlum
iPlum gives financial professionals a dedicated business number for client calls and texts on an existing smartphone. With iPlum, advisors can separate business conversations from personal communication, while your firm manages accounts through an online portal.
iPlum is ideal if you’re looking for a phone system with recording and long-term retention. The financial solution combines calling, texting, recording, and ten years of archiving.
Your subscription also provides 50+ business phone features, so the service works for client appointments, incoming inquiries, routine follow-ups, business hours and more.
Features
- Automatic call recording: iPlum records incoming and outgoing calls automatically. You don't have to remember to press a recording button before discussing client instructions, account questions, or other business.
- Recording announcements: You can enable a standard announcement or customize the greeting to notify callers that the call is being recorded. That said, your firm should choose wording appropriate to its consent procedures.
- Ten-year archiving: The Enterprise plan allows you to retain call recordings and text messages for ten years. That way, your firm can revisit earlier conversations when reviewing a complaint or responding to a records request.
- WORM storage: iPlum's financial compliance archive uses non-rewriteable, non-erasable storage. The format protects retained communications against alteration, providing more than an ordinary collection of downloaded audio files.
- Administrative oversight: Administrators can manage users, set password policies, and obtain audit logs through the compliance console. You can also play recordings and download audio files from the portal for review.
- Shared business numbers: Authorized users can share calls, texts, voicemail, and communication history. With iPlum, an assistant can respond via the shared number when an advisor is unavailable, giving clients a familiar point of contact.
- Office phone features: iPlum also offers an advanced phone tree, extensions, call transfers, business hours, and voicemail to organize incoming calls. Meanwhile, web calling and texting let advisors communicate from their computers as well as smartphones.
- Business messaging: iPlum offers scheduled texts, message templates, and voicemail transcription to reduce repetitive administration. For example, an advisor can prepare a reminder in advance or review a transcribed voicemail before returning a client's call. Meanwhile, out-of-office replies tell clients when to expect a response from you.
Pros
- Recording and archiving bundled
- Ten-year record retention
- Shared business numbers
- Mobile and web access
- Custom recording announcements
Cons
- Recording requires the Enterprise plan
Movius
Movius MultiLine gives financial professionals a business number for calls and texts on an existing smartphone. Your firm can manage business communication separately from personal activity through its administration portal.
However, MultiLine uses archive integrations to preserve long-term records. That said, a separate archive can add costs and setup work.
Features
- Business calling and texting: Advisors can contact clients through a dedicated business number using MultiLine on their mobile devices.
- Call recording: MultiLine offers automatic business call recording, allowing your firm to document conversations through its configured recording service.
- Archive integrations: Business voice recordings and text messages can transfer to an external archive for retention and review.
- Account administration: Administrators can manage business numbers, configure communication policies, and activate available features through an online portal.
- Salesforce integration: Advisors can call and text from Salesforce, with business communication activity logged alongside customer records for reference during client follow-ups.
Pros
- Separate business number
- Automatic recording available
- Archive integrations
- Central account administration
Cons
- Separate archive required
- Complete pricing requires a quote
RingCentral
RingCentral gives financial firms business calling, texting, voicemail, and call routing through desktop phones and mobile or desktop apps.
With RingCenteral, administrators can manage user accounts and phone settings through an online portal.
Like Movius, however, RingCentral requires the Akazio add-on for compliance archiving and long-term preservation of regulated calls and texts. The Akazio integration adds archiving charges to your phone subscription, along with setup and administration.
Features
- Business calling and texting: Advisors can make client calls and exchange business texts using their RingCentral number. Text allowances vary according to the subscription.
- Automatic call recording: The RingEX Advanced plan provides automatic recording for incoming and outgoing calls, with administrator settings determining which conversations the system records.
- Compliance archive integration: Akazio transfers call recordings and messages into an archive with WORM storage and review tools.
- Call routing: Phone menus, extensions, and call queues direct incoming calls to the appropriate advisor or department.
- Mobile and desktop access: Advisors can answer calls and send messages from their computers or smartphones using the RingCentral app.
Pros
- Multiple device options
- Automatic recording available
- Call routing options
- Archive integrations
Cons
- Separate archive required
- Additional archive charges
- Plan-dependent texting allowances
Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone gives financial professionals a business number for calls and texts through desktop and mobile apps. It also offers voicemail, call transfers, and call queues for daily client communication.
However, you need a compliance archive to meet regulated record retention requirements. Zoom Compliance Manager, powered by Theta Lake, offers archiving via a separate paid add-on, resulting in higher subscription fees.
And, your firm must confirm the retention period and storage terms before purchasing.
Features
- Business calling and texting: Advisors can call clients and exchange SMS or MMS messages through their business numbers using the Zoom app.
- Automatic call recording: Administrators can enable recording of incoming, outgoing, or both calls. They can also assign recording permissions to designated users.
- Recording announcements: Customizable audio prompts notify clients that the conversation will be recorded.
- Compliance archiving: Zoom Compliance Manager provides archiving, search, eDiscovery, and legal hold capabilities for eligible communication channels.
- Call routing: Auto receptionists, call queues, and business hours settings direct callers to available advisors or voicemail.
Pros
- Mobile and desktop access
- Automatic call recording
- Custom recording prompts
- Call queue options
Cons
- Paid archive required
- Separate retention configuration
- Additional archive charges
Ooma
Ooma Office provides business calling, texting, voicemail, and a virtual receptionist for financial offices. Employees can answer client calls using desk phones, computers, or mobile devices.
On the flipside, Ooma stores call recordings for 90 days. In addition, your firm must arrange separate preservation for records requiring longer retention.
So, Ooma Office Pro alone does not provide the long-term call and text archive offered through competitors such as iPlum.
Features
- Business calling and texting: Ooma Office Pro provides business numbers, domestic calling, and texting. Message allowances depend on your plan.
- Call recording: Pro and Pro Plus offer automatic and on-demand recording. Users can replay recordings or download audio files before the storage period expires.
- Virtual receptionist: A recorded greeting and phone menu direct incoming callers to the appropriate extension or department.
- Ring groups: Incoming calls can ring several employees, allowing an available colleague to answer when an advisor is occupied.
- Voicemail transcription: Pro plans convert voicemail messages into text, allowing advisors to review client inquiries before returning calls.
Pros
- Monthly billing available
- Virtual receptionist
- Mobile and desktop access
- Automatic recording available
Cons
- Ninety-day recording storage
- Separate long-term preservation
- Recording requires Pro
Phone system for finance: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Can financial advisors use their personal phones for business?
Yes, advisors can use personal devices with a firm-approved business phone service. A separate business number allows your firm to manage client calls and texts independently from personal communication activity.
Does call recording alone make a phone system compliant?
No. Recording is only one component. Your firm must also address record preservation, access permissions, supervision, consent procedures, and retrieval. The required configuration depends on your business and applicable regulations.
Can I transfer my existing business number to iPlum?
Yes, iPlum offers number porting, allowing you to retain your existing business number. Before transferring, confirm eligibility and leave your current service active until iPlum completes the number porting process.
What is the difference between call storage and compliance archiving?
Call storage saves audio files. Compliance archiving adds preservation controls, retention settings, and retrieval capabilities. Therefore, a provider’s recording storage allowance does not establish that its service meets regulatory requirements.
Which iPlum plan provides call recording and long-term archiving?
iPlum’s Enterprise plan provides call recording, recording announcements, and ten-year call and text archiving. It also offers business calling, texting, shared numbers, voicemail transcription, and web access within the same subscription.
Pick a phone system built for financial compliance
Your firm's communication records shouldn't depend on an advisor remembering to record a call or save a text.
iPlum gives advisors a dedicated business number on their existing phones, with automatic call recording and ten-year call and text archiving.
Meanwhile, shared numbers, call routing, and web access give your firm the everyday phone features it needs to serve clients.
You can manage business lines, review recordings, and give authorized colleagues access to client communication.
If you're ready to bring client calls and texts into a firm-approved channel, sign up for the iPlum Enterprise plan and put your business communication policies into practice.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes and may not reflect the most current features or capabilities of the products or companies mentioned. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to the official sources of each company.
