Regulated firms can record Teams Phone calls in a way that meets MiFID II and FCA recordkeeping rules. But according to Wordwatch, doing so requires far more than pressing record. Compliance depends on a certified recording integration that captures calls in real time under an administrator-controlled policy that users cannot disable.

Each recording must then be preserved in its original format, with a clear chain of custody, and retained for five years under MiFID II Article 16(7). Regulators can extend that period to seven years.

The urgency comes from a shift in how trading desks operate. By 2026, Teams is no longer just a collaboration tool layered over existing telephony on many regulated desks. It has become the telephony itself, carrying conversations that once ran through turrets, PBX lines and dedicated trader handsets.

Because recordkeeping duties apply to the conversation rather than the technology, a trade-related Teams Phone call is subject to the same capture, retention and retrieval rules as one made on a turret.

Microsoft separates two capabilities. Native Teams recording is started by the user, stored in OneDrive and SharePoint, and intended for meeting notes and resolving disputes. Compliance recording is set centrally by administrators, cannot be switched off by users, and relies on certified partner solutions that capture calls through Teams’ calling infrastructure.

Only compliance recording was built with MiFID II and FCA evidential standards in mind, so native recording alone is widely considered inadequate for regulated voice.

Article 16(7) sets out four duties. 1), preserve them in an unalterable form and produce them on request in an accessible format.

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