IM impact: Are you accounting for emerging instant messaging channels?

From pioneering platforms like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and MSN Messenger to more contemporary channels like Slack and Microsoft Teams (Teams), instant messaging (IM) has become one of the most widely used forms of communication for personal and business use. An article published by the National Library of Medicine stated that corporations found 75% of US employees “agreed that IM is relatively faster and more interactive than e-mail and other CMC.”

While early IM channels were primarily used for personal conversations, current platforms are increasing leveraged for day-to-day business activities. Clients want communications with their vendors to be convenient, and in the same sense, workforces want to connect with their teams and colleagues rapidly. Utilizing platforms that can support real-time conversations is pivotal in keeping pace with the speed modern businesses operate at, and employees and clients will want to use IM platforms they are familiar with from personal use.

Still, some financial institutions have yet to sanction the use of IM channels, instead opting to ban channels or advise employees to utilize other firm-approved platforms, despite continued enforcements proving these methods to be ineffective. Are we seeing a shift toward more firms enabling and capturing IM channels? And what are the considerations and challenges firms weigh up when enabling IM channels?

Instant capture or continued concerns?

Capturing evolving communications channels has become a clear requirement over the past several years, underscored by regulators, with fines for noncompliance reaching record amounts. Some of the prominent IM related fines include those that were part of the “WhatsApp initiative,” an effort by regulators to enforce communications compliance by fining instances of off-channel communications on the universally used IM channel.  

Findings from Global Relay’s Industry Insights: Compliant Communications 2024 report suggest that, while considerable adoption efforts still need to be made to preserve IM channel data, there is a gradual shift towards complete capture:

• In 2024, 43.5% of respondents continued to ban WhatsApp and WeChat despite regulatory action and uncertainty of ban effectiveness, though this dropped from 59% of respondents in 2023
• Only 7.8% of firms said they don’t have a clear plan to tackle off-channel comms in 2024 as opposed to 25.6% in 2023
• The percentage of firms capturing electronic communications channels like WhatsApp and WeChat increased from 10.3% in 2023 to 17.4% in 2024

While this shift indicates changing attitudes, firms enabling and capturing multiple IM channels has yet to become commonplace, despite the continual proliferation of such channels. In its 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report, FINRA highlighted that improper oversight of non-email electronic communications conducted through firm-approved channels is a recurring challenge, and is a key focus for the regulator in the coming year.

FINRA also reiterated the necessary commitment to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4, specifically stating, that in addition to supervising business communications, firms are expected to:

“Create and preserve, in an easily accessible place, originals of all communications received and sent relating to their “business as such” (e.g., emails, instant messages, text messages, chat messages, interactive blogs).”

Invigorate operations and avoid mishaps with IM integration

IM’s popularity is amplified by its ability to enhance interactivity and boost productivity with optimized chat abilities. Channels like Teams and Slack enable greater efficiency, offering individual and channel messaging, video recording, and file sharing. Additionally, users can utilize emojis or reactions, which encourages engagement and conversational efficacy. 

With regulators recognizing that business communications are expanding outside of “traditional” channels, like email, it’s important that firms adjust policies accordingly. Yet one of the biggest conundrums isn’t just enabling modern channels, but outlining approved use policies and securing employee buy-in. This is illustrated in Global Relay’s 2024 Data Insights report:

• In 2024, 65.2% of respondents stated their biggest concern with comms compliance is “getting staff to comply,” which is a 3.7% increase from the previous year’s number of 61.5%

Often, a roadblock in adopting new communications channels is communicating policies that clarify exactly how employees are expected to conduct business conversations. When creating communications policies, it’s beneficial to weigh the below steps:

1. Determine the team members and departments who will be responsible for upholding and enforcing communications policies
2. Draft policies that are clear and concise, and ensure they are regularly circulated to remind employees of expectations
3. Hold interactive and engaging training that leverages real life examples to illustrate the importance of adherence to rules and the consequences of disregarding them
4. Prioritize positive company culture, and ensure leaders and executives are displaying the behavior that’s expected of the workforce as a whole
5. Utilize compliance tools that support policy execution, such as employing the integration of an archive that stores all communications centrally

In a November 2024 speech outlining the SEC’s continuing focuses, Sanjay Wadhwa, then-acting director, division of enforcement referenced the use of modern technological solutions to capture communications when discussing compliance efforts that could mitigate fines:

“We consider a firm’s efforts to comply with its recordkeeping obligations and to prevent off-channel communications, focusing, for example, on timely adoption of meaningful technological or other solutions.”

Regulators stress that proactivity is the number one step firms should be taking to proving they are prioritizing compliance efforts and working to meet compliance guidance, and ensuring this objective is shared amongst personnel is a step in the right direction.

An IM-pactful move for business communications

Despite challenges, moving forward with transparency and a firm initiative to commit to compliance is a critical business focus. Communications practices will continue to advance and inevitably shift to the next new popular platform, meaning firms need to stay vigilant and committed.

Properly harnessing the advantages of current IM platforms puts firms at the forefront of the industry, and ensuring that these communications are properly maintained and preserved is equally as vital for firms looking to balance the demands of their business and those of regulators.