CISI Fundamentals of Financial Services Course

 

Every subscription includes three months’ access to our banking and finance job listings. Hundreds of current openings in banking operations, investment support, client services and compliance across the UK, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and India — including junior roles that name CISI qualifications in the requirements. No other CISI training provider gives you this.

The CISI Fundamentals of Financial Services exam is 30 multiple-choice questions in one hour, and four elements carry two thirds of it. Banking, Equities and Bonds are five questions each — half the paper between them — and Other Areas of Financial Services is another five. Ethics and Derivatives are one question each. This course covers all eight elements while concentrating your study time where the marks are.

It assumes no finance background. Every term is defined the first time it appears, and the two calculations the syllabus asks for — the annual effective rate and dividend yield — are worked through on screen rather than left on a slide.

Try Two Chapters Free → Create an account on our e-learning portal and see the lectures, slides and questions before you buy.

• 95% pass rate among our students.
• Over 1,000 five-star Google reviews.
• Fully recorded and self-paced — start today, study at any hour.

Start the free trial →

The CISI examination is booked and paid for separately, directly with the CISI. The price on this page covers the Tadawul Academy preparation course only. Current CISI fees are set out below.

Who this Fundamentals course is for

This qualification builds the working vocabulary of the industry before a specialist role or a higher-level exam. There are no entry requirements and no prior study is assumed, which makes it the usual first CISI exam for:

• New joiners in banking, operations, settlements, client services and back office
• Technology, HR, legal, marketing and audit staff who support a financial firm and need to understand its products
• School leavers, students and graduates deciding whether finance is the career they want
• Career changers who need a recognised qualification on the CV before applying
• Employers running induction programmes for new staff

CISI sets no formal English requirement but advises proficiency to CEFR B2 level, since the paper turns on precise reading of closely related terms.

What passing the Fundamentals exam awards you

One exam gives you the whole qualification. On the Regulated Qualifications Framework it is titled the CISI Level 2 Award in Fundamentals of Financial Services, the name that appears on your certificate; on the European Qualifications Framework it sits at level 3. Total qualification time is 101 hours.

Passing entitles you to apply for CISI Affiliate membership, and you hold free Student membership while you study. This is a foundation qualification, not a licence to advise clients, and Affiliate is the entry grade — not the Associate membership or ACSI letters that come with the Level 3 units. CISI names Introduction to Investment and its international version as the next steps; our CISI IISI course prepares that route.

What the CISI Fundamentals exam covers

The current specification is syllabus version 7, effective from 1 August 2026. If a study guide or provider page you are reading describes the previous edition, it predates that date. Eight elements, with the number of questions each contributes:

Element	Questions	What to prepare for
1. Ethics and Integrity in Financial Services	1	Ethical behaviour, ESG and responsible investment, and impact investing including gender-lens investing and microfinance.
2. Saving and Borrowing	4	How savers and borrowers connect through banks, equities and bonds; risk against reward; government borrowing; why insurers exist.
3. Banking	5	Retail against commercial banking, the cost of each borrowing type, secured against unsecured, quoted against annual effective rates, investment banks and central banks.
4. Equities	5	Why companies issue shares, initial public offerings, dividends and capital gains, dividend yield, voting rights and shareholder risk.
5. Bonds	5	Government and corporate issuers, nominal, coupon, maturity and yield, income against credit risk, ratings and leverage.
6. Derivatives	1	Why derivatives are used, and the function of futures, call options and put options.
7. Markets	4	What a stock exchange does, and seven named indices with the market each one tracks across the US, UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan.
8. Other Areas of Financial Services	5	Collective investment, foreign exchange and cryptocurrencies, insurance, estate and retirement planning, fintech and robo-advice, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer finance.

Two rows decide how you revise. Element 8 spreads five marks across six subject areas, so it carries more reading per mark than anything else on the paper. Element 7 is four marks, mostly a list of seven indices and the markets they track — the cheapest marks available, and the ones candidates most often drop. Ethics and Derivatives are one mark each: cover them, but do not give them the revision time you give a five-question element.

The paper also contains arithmetic. Two objectives in the whole syllabus begin with “be able to calculate”: the annual effective rate from a quoted rate and its payment frequency, and the dividend yield from a share price and the year’s dividends. Both appear on CISI’s own sample paper, where the dividend question quotes a quarterly figure you have to annualise first. Practise them until you recognise the inputs on sight — two marks, a minute each.

The paper can also move from a rate calculation to a product comparison, a market index and a fintech definition in consecutive questions. At two minutes a question, speed comes from understanding how the products differ, not from memorising isolated sentences.

View the official CISI qualification page, download the official version 7 syllabus, or open CISI’s official 30-question sample paper. CISI publishes amendments in its Candidate Update area between editions, so check it before you sit.

What is included

• Recorded video lectures covering every element of the syllabus, chapter by chapter
• Chapter summary slides and study notes for revision
• Multiple-choice practice questions designed around the CISI examination format, organised by chapter
• Worked examples of the annual effective rate and dividend yield calculations
• An Ask the Trainer section for questions on the material
• Access options of two weeks, one month or three months
• Three months’ access to the Tadawul Academy job listings — current banking, investment support, client services and compliance vacancies in the UK, the Gulf, Egypt and India

The practice questions are written by Tadawul Academy for preparation. They are not live CISI examination questions, and no provider has access to the live question bank.

Fundamentals exam format

Questions	30 multiple choice
Duration	1 hour — two minutes a question
Pass mark	CISI does not state a figure for this unit on its qualification page, factsheet or syllabus. Ask CISI to confirm when you book.
Total qualification time	101 hours, CISI’s estimate of study, revision and assessment combined
Delivery	Computer-based test, available on demand
Where	CISI’s global test-centre network, or online by remote invigilation, subject to local availability
Age rules	Under 18s cannot sit by remote invigilation and must attend a test centre. Under 16s are admitted only if the necessary form is completed at booking and an adult accompanies them to registration.
Languages	CISI lists the examination in English, Arabic and French. This Tadawul Academy product is the English course.
Trial questions	Up to 10% extra unscored questions may appear — up to three on top of the 30. They are not identified, do not count towards your result, and you are given proportionately more time.
Results	Available in MyCISI within 24 working hours, provisional for five working days
Resits	Up to six attempts at the same subject in any rolling 12-month period, with a six-week rest period after the third sitting in that period.

Read that resit rule carefully: it runs on a rolling 12 months from each sitting, not a calendar year, and the six-week pause is enforced. An employer can apply to waive it once, for a fourth attempt; if that fails, no further waiver is granted.

What the CISI Fundamentals exam costs

These are CISI’s own charges, separate from the price of this course. From the CISI price list covering 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, checked 5 August 2026.

Booking in the UK

• Exam: £129
• Workbook, mandatory with the booking: £90
• Exam, workbook and Revision Express saver package: £238

Booking internationally

• First sitting: £238, including the current workbook and Revision Express where available
• Resit within the same syllabus version: £129
• Some countries add a local invigilation fee

If you are 16 to 19

• CISI lists a separate rate for 16 to 19 year olds: £60 for the exam, or £100 as a package
• Ask CISI whether you qualify before booking at the standard price — a difference of £69

Other CISI fees

• Qualification Registration Fee: £68, paid once when you register your first CISI qualification
• Revision Express bought separately: £45
• Performance Review after a failed attempt: £40, and free once you have failed the same subject three times

A Performance Review breaks your result down element by element — enough to show whether you lost the paper on Element 8 or on careless marks elsewhere. Fees are reviewed annually, so confirm the amounts on the current CISI price list before booking.

How to plan your Fundamentals study

CISI sets total qualification time at 101 hours, covering course study, workbook reading, revision and assessment. That figure assumes no industry background: it reflects the ground the syllabus covers, not the length of the paper. Two schedules that reach it:

• Ten weeks at around 10 hours a week
• Fourteen weeks at around 7 hours a week

These are our examples, not CISI rules. Organise the material by exam weight, not chapter number:

1. Start with Saving and Borrowing. Its four questions establish how banks, shares, bonds, markets and insurance connect, and every later element assumes it.
2. Then Banking. Learn the borrowing types by cost, and repeat the annual effective rate calculation until the method is automatic.
3. Then Equities and Bonds. Ten questions together: compare ownership with lending, dividends with coupons, shareholder risk with credit risk.
4. Then Markets and Other Areas. Nine questions, from indices to collective funds, insurance, retirement planning and fintech. Budget more time for Element 8 than its five marks suggest.
5. Finish with Ethics and Derivatives, then mixed practice. One mark each, so give them an evening, then repeat both calculations under time pressure.

Begin practice questions once you have finished Banking rather than saving them for the final week — they show where your recall is weak while there is time to fix it. On a 30-question paper single marks decide results, so book once you are consistently scoring 26 or better on mixed timed sets.

Using this course with the CISI workbook

The CISI workbook is the definitive examination text. Tadawul Academy adds guided explanations, revision slides, practice questions and trainer support so you can work through that text systematically and identify the topics that need more revision.

1. Watch the lecture for the chapter.
2. Read the matching section of the current CISI workbook.
3. Review the chapter summary slides.
4. Complete that chapter’s practice questions without referring to the answers.
5. Revisit every incorrect or guessed answer, then repeat the calculation questions.

Because the syllabus changed on 1 August 2026, check with CISI that the workbook edition you receive matches version 7. The exam is set from the syllabus, so anything in one and not the other is worth an email before you sit.

Before you enrol

• We do not run classroom training or live online sessions. This is a self-paced e-learning package of recorded video lectures, study notes and practice exams.
• You can create a free account on our e-learning portal and try two chapters before buying.
• After you order, we activate your account and email confirmation within a few hours. Please check your email address is correct when you place the order.
• When your access expires, place a new order here to extend it.
• You need the current CISI Fundamentals workbook. We are not permitted to supply it — CISI does, as part of your exam booking, under its mandatory workbook policy. Format and delivery differ between UK and international bookings, so confirm the arrangement with CISI when you book. Study it properly before you sit.

Book the Fundamentals examination with CISI

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the CISI workbook as well as this course?

Yes. The current workbook is the examination text and CISI requires it to be bought with your exam booking. This course does not replace it — it adds lectures on the parts that are new to you, worked calculations, revision slides, and practice questions to test whether the reading has stuck.

How much does the CISI Fundamentals exam cost?

In the UK, £129 for the exam plus £90 for the mandatory workbook, or £238 for the saver package with Revision Express. Internationally, £238 for a first sitting with the workbook included and £129 for a resit within the same syllabus version. CISI lists a separate 16 to 19 rate of £60, or £100 as a package. Add the one-off £68 registration fee if this is your first CISI qualification, plus any local invigilation fee. Figures from the CISI price list for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Are there mock exams and practice questions?

Yes. The course includes chapter questions and mixed practice sets written around the CISI multiple-choice format, so you can test each element as you finish it. They are our questions, not live CISI questions.

Does CISI publish past papers or a Fundamentals of Financial Services PDF?

CISI does not publish past papers, but it does publish a free official 30-question sample paper with an answer key — which makes Fundamentals unusual among CISI units. Sit it under timed conditions once you have covered the syllabus. Its answer sheet maps questions to objective numbers from an earlier edition, so a few no longer match version 7. Avoid files claiming to hold real or leaked questions.

Is Fundamentals a Level 2 qualification, and what do I get for passing?

Yes. Passing awards the CISI Level 2 Award in Fundamentals of Financial Services — RQF level 2, EQF level 3 — a complete qualification in its own right, and it entitles you to apply for CISI Affiliate membership. It is the entry point to the CISI ladder, not a Level 3 unit, so if your employer asked for a Level 3 qualification, check which one they mean.

How long does preparation take?

CISI sets total qualification time at 101 hours. Ten weeks at 10 hours a week, or fourteen at 7, both reach it. Your own timing depends mainly on Banking, Equities, Bonds and the two calculations.

Does this course include live classes?

No. Everything is recorded and self-paced. For questions on the material, use the Ask the Trainer section and you will get a written answer.

How quickly is my account activated?

Within a few hours of your order, and we email you to confirm. The most common cause of delay is a mistyped email address at checkout.

Is the job-listings access really included?

Yes, at no extra cost, for three months from activation. It lists current banking and finance vacancies across the UK, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and India, including the operations and client services roles a first CISI qualification is aimed at.

What happens if I fail, and how many resits am I allowed?

Up to six attempts at the same subject in any rolling 12-month period, with a six-week rest period after the third sitting in that period. A resit within the same syllabus version costs £129 booked internationally. If you fail the same subject three times, CISI provides a Performance Review free of charge, showing your score element by element.

Can I sit the Fundamentals exam from home?

Yes, if you are 18 or over. CISI offers this exam by remote invigilation as well as at its global test centres, on demand rather than on fixed dates. Under 18s must sit at a test centre. Everyone else should confirm the remote option is available in their country and run CISI’s system check before booking.

 

NEED HELP?

Still Have a Question?

If you have read the course information and still need help, send us a WhatsApp message.

Chat with us on WhatsApp

Free Videos From Our YouTube Channel

Do You Have Any Questions?