By Ken Muthomi - Reporter
United States, 23 June 2026 - Tech Giant Google has announced an expansion of its financial services advertiser verification program to cover every member state in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA).
In a statement on Tuesday, the tech giant said that the move aims to reinforce consumer protection and combat online financial scams, which have seen a sharp increase over the years.
The programme, which is already available in 18 countries globally, including six EU members and the United Kingdom, will now cover 24 additional countries.
Following the rollout, financial advertisers will undergo additional verification processes to prove they are authorised by their respective national regulators before they can run any advertisements on Google's platforms.
For Businesses wishing to advertise financial products and services on Google’s platform, Google will verify advertisers' credentials by cross-checking them against official regulatory registries across the EU and EEA,
“This additional verification builds on our existing advertiser identity verification program, which already covers more than 98% of ads seen across the EU,” Google stated.
“Paired with defenses built with Gemini, verifying an advertiser’s identity helps stop harmful ads before people see them. Last year, our systems blocked or removed more than 1.6 billion ads in the EU,” it added.
The new measures shall be rolled out in phases, with businesses given 30 days to complete the verification process. If an advertiser isn't verified within the stipulated timeline, they will be restricted from airing financial services ads until verification is complete.
According to Google, the initiative, which will be supplemented by other defenses engineered with Gemini, is designed to help users identify legitimate financial service providers and increase trust in the advertisements they encounter online.
Last year alone, the company said it blocked or removed more than 1.6 billion ads across the EU for violating its policies, as well as 327.8 million unauthorized financial services ads globally.
“Protecting people online is a shared, ongoing effort across industries. By bringing these verification requirements to more countries, we're helping Europeans find financial services they can trust,” the company said.
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