Google to expand Financial Services Verification to the U.S. and Canada, targeting financial scam ads

Google says it will roll out additional safeguards for financial advertising in the United States and Canada beginning in early 2027, expanding a program it describes as already covering billions of internet users worldwide. The change is designed to stop financial scam ads that impersonate legitimate banks, credit products, or other regulated services by raising the bar for who can run certain ads on Google.

Under the Financial Services Verification program, advertisers must demonstrate they are authorized by relevant regulators or recognized registries before they can run specific types of financial ads. Google says the new check is added on top of identity verification and is meant to reduce brand impersonation and prevent bad actors from reaching people looking for accounts and credit.

Google frames the expansion as a response to a persistent fraud problem in digital advertising, where scammers can exploit lookalike brands and fake offers. The company said its safeguards include AI-assisted systems that help catch and block policy-violating ads before they are served. In 2025, Google said Gemini helped its systems catch over 99% of policy-violating ads before they ever served, blocking bad ads in real time.

The company also provided statistics intended to characterize the baseline in its ad ecosystem. It said that in the United States and Canada, more than 97% of the ads people see on Google already come from identity-verified advertisers. Google said the Financial Services Verification program is intended to build on that foundation by adding a specialized check focused on authorization by regulators.

Google described the program as having been introduced first in the United Kingdom in 2021 and later expanding across the European Union. It said the U.S. and Canada rollouts will be phased, with country-specific guidance for advertisers about which registries are accepted, what credentials are required, and how businesses should onboard. Google said businesses will receive clear guidance well before enforcement starts and that advertisers will be notified once verification opens.

For the U.S. implementation, Google said it is working with the American Bankers Association to use the association’s dedicated registry to verify authorized banks before ads can run. In Canada, Google said it is engaging with the Canadian Bankers Association as it prepares for the rollout. Google did not specify whether other types of financial providers, beyond banks, will use the same registries, or which regulators will be recognized in each category of ads.

The announcement ties the advertising safeguards to broader efforts aimed at fraud and information sharing. Google said its ad-verification work complements initiatives such as the Global Announcement Exchange, which it describes as a way to share information across technology, finance, and law enforcement to stop fraud.

Google’s approach also reflects how differing regulations across borders can affect enforcement. By adapting the requirements for each country, the company is attempting to balance consumer protection with access for legitimate institutions. Google did not publish a timeline for the full phased implementation beyond saying it begins in early 2027, nor did it provide specific compliance deadlines for each advertiser category.

One uncertainty is the precise scope of which ads will be covered by the authorization requirement in the U.S. and Canada, and how Google will handle edge cases such as non-bank financial institutions, affiliates, or entities that may be regulated through multiple channels. The company also did not describe potential penalties for noncompliance beyond enforcement starting after the guidance period.

Looking ahead, the practical impact will depend on how quickly authorized financial providers complete verification and how effectively the expanded checks reduce scam ads over time. Advertisers serving financial audiences, as well as agencies that manage ad accounts, will likely need to track the promised country-specific guidance and ensure their credentials align with whichever registries Google accepts when verification opens in early 2027.