Financial Translation and Interpreting

Financial sector

Financial translation for banks, insurers, investment firms and advisers

A misplaced comma in a financial translation is not a typo. It can move a figure by a factor of a thousand. Our financial translators and interpreters are well versed in financial concepts and terminology, and through our network you can access more than 8,000 active, highly qualified interpreters and translators in just a few seconds. We work with small firms and large multinational financial institutions alike.

What our financial translation covers

Our financial translation service covers financial reports, financial law, insurance, banking, investment, audits, bonds, negotiations, reinsurance, stockbroking, notary services, government-sponsored enterprises, asset management and equity, and contracts and agreements. The documents our linguists translate include:

• Annual reports and accounts
• Audit reports
• Investment documents and fund literature
• Prospectuses
• Due diligence reports
• Legal contracts and loan agreements
• Insurance policies and claims
• Customer due diligence documents
• Board papers and minutes

Numbers, dates and words that change meaning

Some of the costliest mistakes in financial translation have nothing to do with vocabulary.

Number formats. In Germany, 1.234,56 means what we write as 1,234.56. In France the thousands are separated by a space, so the same figure is 1 234,56. Every figure has to be converted, not only the words around it.

Dates. 03/04/2026 is 3 April in the UK and 4 March in the United States. Writing dates out in full removes the doubt.

Billions. The German Billion is a British trillion, and the French milliard is a British billion. Get that wrong in a set of accounts and a figure changes a thousandfold.

Accounting terms. IFRS Standards have official translations in many languages, and a good financial translator uses the established terms rather than inventing new ones. When translating into English, decide whether you want UK terms (turnover, debtors, stock) or IFRS terms (revenue, receivables, inventories), and keep to that choice throughout.

KYC, anti-money laundering and onboarding

Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, firms have to verify who their customers are, and the evidence is often in another language: passports and identity cards, company registry extracts, articles of association, proof of address and bank references. We translate these quickly, and certified translations are available where your compliance team or a third party needs them.

Consumer Duty and customers with limited English

The FCA's Consumer Duty expects firms to communicate in a way their customers can understand, and the FCA's guidance on vulnerable customers lists poor English language skills among the things that can make a customer vulnerable. For customers whose first language is not English, that can mean translated letters and key documents, and an interpreter for calls and meetings about their money. Telephone interpreting works well for customer service lines.

Confidential and price-sensitive work

Results, deal documents and board papers are often inside information until they are published. Under UK MAR, the people working on them, translators included, may need to be on your insider list, so plan for that when you book. If you need a non-disclosure agreement in place before you send anything, include it with your quote request.

Financial interpreting

Our financial interpreters work at negotiations, investor meetings, due diligence interviews, audits and board meetings, and at meetings with customers who need help to understand their own finances. The skills of our professional financial interpreters and translators are unparalleled, and they can be a real asset in a competitive sector. Before a negotiation or a due diligence interview, send the interpreter the key documents. Figures and names are much easier to get right when they are not being heard for the first time.

Speed and delivery

We always offer speedy, accurate and prompt delivery to all our clients, which is why we get so many repeat requests. When the deadline is measured in hours, see our urgent translation service.

Languages for financial work

We cover more than 350 languages and dialects, including the languages of the main financial centres: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean. For contracts and disputes, see also our legal sector page.