Google announced on Tuesday, October 20, that it will extend its verification program for companies advertising financial services to the United States and Canada. Implementation is planned for early 2027, adding checks on providers’ authorization to the advertiser identity verification already used by the platform.
According to the company, Financial Services Verification currently covers 42 countries and approximately two billion internet users. The North American expansion continues a process that began in the United Kingdom in 2021 and subsequently reached other markets, including all countries in the European Union and European Economic Area.
Financial authorization is checked separately from a company’s identity
Google says more than 97% of the ads people see on its platform in the US and Canada already come from identity-verified advertisers. The additional check concerns authorization to provide certain financial services: a company must demonstrate authorization by the relevant bodies or registration in recognized registries for that activity.
The current program’s examples of covered activities include banking, credit cards, loans, investment, brokerage and insurance. Requirements apply according to the market targeted by the advertising and the advertiser’s category. Google’s documentation provides for separate verification for each targeted location where such a requirement is in place.
In the US, Google is working with the American Bankers Association and plans to use its dedicated registry to verify authorized banks before their ads run. In Canada, the company is engaging with the Canadian Bankers Association ahead of the launch. The approach will be adapted to each country through phased implementation.
Separate instructions for each of the two markets
Before the 2027 expansion, Google will publish country-specific information about accepted registries, authorization credentials and joining the program. Once verification opens, businesses will be notified if and when they need to complete the process, allowing them to receive instructions before the policy is enforced in the respective market.
In the existing program, Google distinguishes five advertiser categories: authorized providers, third parties approved by an authorized provider, businesses outside the financial sector, government entities and financial services providers exempt from regulatory authorization. The type of application and required documents depend on which of these categories the business falls into.
The non-financial business category covers, for example, activities promoting an ancillary financial product from an authorized provider. The documentation mentions travel agents offering travel insurance and automotive companies promoting financing, leasing or insurance. It also includes organizations with a compelling reason to reach people who are interested in financial services.
Applications are submitted by an authorized representative who is an administrator of the Google Ads account or the payments profile funding the ads. This can include agencies managing a company’s account. Verification concerns the information and operations of the advertiser whose campaigns are being managed by that representative.
Romania already has its own timeline in the European program
Google announced the expansion to all EU and EEA countries on June 23, 2026. At that point, the company described adding 24 countries to a program already active in 18 markets, including six European Union member states and the United Kingdom. European implementation was organized in phases across the participating countries.
For Romania, the program’s official table lists September 15, 2026, as the enforcement start date. Named authorities and registries include the National Bank of Romania, the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania, alongside European institutions relevant to the services concerned.
In the announcement about the European expansion, Google provided 30 days for notified businesses to complete verification. Once that period expires, unverified advertisers’ financial ads are restricted until the process is completed. This is the timeline communicated for the European expansion; the October 20 announcement separately sets out preparations for the US and Canada.
Document checks complement systems detecting fraudulent advertising
Google places the expansion within a protection system combining business verification with automated detection of policy violations. In its report on advertising safety during 2025, published in April 2026, the company reported blocking or removing more than 8.3 billion ads and suspending 24.9 million advertiser accounts across its platform.
Of those totals, 602 million ads and four million accounts were associated with scams, according to Google. The company says its Gemini-powered tools identified more than 99% of policy-violating ads before they ran. These figures describe Google’s own reported results for 2025 across its advertising systems and their enforcement activity.
In the same account, Google explains that its models analyze signals including account age, behavior and campaign patterns. Separately, collaboration through the Global Signal Exchange aims to share fraud signals between organizations. Announced in 2024 with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and DNS Research Federation, the initiative includes exchanging information about web addresses associated with fraudulent activities.
Identity verification also has a public element: some advertiser information appears in ad disclosures and the Ads Transparency Center. Google’s documentation mentions the organization’s name and location, as well as information about ads that have run. Financial authorization adds checks specific to the sector on top of this general transparency mechanism.
After certification, the financial program can require periodic renewal or re-verification following significant account changes, such as an updated payments profile. Google communicates requests through in-account notifications. For the new North American expansion, the next announced stage is publication of national requirements and the instructions for enrolling in the program.
