You will be able to find and apply the platform and Singapore rules that cover financial product ads.
Daniel is a financial adviser representative in Singapore. He has watched other advisers run ads offering free retirement reviews, and he drafts one of his own on a Sunday night: a photo of a smiling couple on a beach, the headline retire at 55 with guaranteed monthly income, and a link to a form. He is about to press publish when a colleague asks whether compliance has seen it. They have not, and the ad has several problems that could get it rejected by the platform, get his account restricted, or put him in breach of his firm's rules.
Financial products are among the most tightly controlled things you can advertise. The platforms have their own policies on top of their general rules, and in Singapore there are regulatory expectations as well. This lesson shows where those rules live and the common mistakes to look for. It does not replace reading the current rules or your firm's compliance process, and nothing here is advice on any product.
Meta, Google and TikTok each publish advertising policies specific to financial products and services. They cover things like credit, loans, insurance, investments and cryptocurrency, and they vary by product and by country. Some products are allowed with conditions, some need prior approval, and some are restricted or not allowed at all in some markets.
The details change often, so the only safe approach is to read the current version of each policy for Singapore before you build. Search each platform's help centre for its financial services advertising policy and save the pages. Note anything that applies to your product, such as required disclosures, approvals or targeting limits.
Google adds a step for some advertisers. It runs a financial services verification process in a list of countries, which can require an advertiser to show that it is licensed or authorised by the local regulator before its financial ads can run. Google's help pages list the countries and what counts as proof. At the time this course was written, that list included Singapore, where the proof can involve a MAS licence or an exemption. Check the current page before you start, because the process can take time.
Beyond the platforms, financial advertising in Singapore sits under the Monetary Authority of Singapore. MAS has rules and guidelines covering how financial institutions and their representatives advertise and market financial products, including online and on social media. They deal with matters such as fair and balanced presentation, risk disclosures and oversight of what representatives publish.
Read the current requirements on the MAS website for your type of product and licence. If you are a representative of a financial advisory firm, an insurer or a bank, your firm will also have its own policy on advertising. Many firms require every ad, post and landing page to be approved by compliance before it runs, and some do not allow representatives to run paid ads at all. That firm process is not optional, and it sits on top of the platform rules.
The course Selling financial advice in Singapore: needs-based and compliant covers the wider conduct expectations for representatives.
Most problems in financial ads fall into a few patterns.
Promising returns. Words like guaranteed, risk-free or sure profit, or showing a specific return as if it were certain, are red flags for platforms and regulators alike. Daniel's guaranteed monthly income headline is the clearest problem in his draft.
Leaving out the risks. An ad for an investment or insurance product that mentions only the benefits gives an unbalanced picture. Where risks, fees or conditions apply, they need to be presented fairly, and your firm will usually specify how.
Vague or misleading claims. Retire at 55 implies an outcome that depends entirely on the person's circumstances. Free retirement review can be fine if it is genuinely free and the ad is clear about what happens next, such as a meeting with a representative who may recommend products.
Products with extra limits. Some products face further restrictions on marketing to the public. For cryptocurrency and other digital tokens, check both the platform policies and MAS's guidance on how such services may be promoted in Singapore before considering any ad.
One more set of rules applies to all ads in Singapore. The Singapore Code of Advertising Practice, published by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore, sets standards for advertising generally, including that ads should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Lesson 5.3, One offer, one proof, one action, introduced it. Financial ads have to meet it as well as everything above.
Daniel rewrote his ad. The headline became plan your retirement income with a free one-hour review, the image showed a real meeting rather than a beach, the page explained what the review covered and that it was with a licensed representative, and the whole package went to his firm's compliance team before anything was published.
Your first step is the same as his: know which rules apply to you. In the activity below you will find and save the current financial services ad policies for Meta, Google and TikTok, and pick out three rules that would affect your ads.
Find and save the current financial services ad policy pages for Meta, Google and TikTok and list three rules that would affect your ads.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).