Consumer credit compliance quick-check

Run through each check below to confirm your consumer credit business meets its core FCA obligations. Follow any signpost where you need to act.

1. Check permissions and fees

Your FCA consumer credit permissions must be current, match your actual activities, and your annual periodic fees must be paid. Check the FCA Register to confirm your firm's permission profile is accurate.

Full permission - lending: Required for personal loans, credit cards, hire purchase, buy now pay later
Full permission - broking: Required for credit brokers introducing customers to lenders
Full permission - debt collection: Required for debt collection and debt purchasing activities
Limited permission: For lower-risk activities like consumer hire, secondary credit broking
Credit broking exemption: Exempt if offering 12-month interest-free credit with 12 or fewer payments
B2B lending: Exempt from consumer credit regime (business-to-business only)

Apply for FCA authorisation (opens in a new tab)

Consumer credit rates and thresholds

FCA fee rates, interest rate thresholds, and key regulatory figures

Credit advertising compliance

Representative APR rules, financial promotion requirements, social media compliance, and risk warnings

Pre-contract disclosure requirements

SECCI form obligations, adequate explanations, and creditworthiness assessment requirements

3. Check Consumer Duty and complaints process

Confirm your annual Consumer Duty board report is completed, that outcomes monitoring is in place for your credit products, and that your complaints process routes customers correctly to FOS within required timescales.

The Consumer Duty is the FCA's flagship conduct standard, requiring firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. It applies to all firms in the retail distribution chain.

Consumer Principle (Principle 12): A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers
Legal basis: FCA PRIN 2A (Principles for Businesses sourcebook)
Final rules published: 27 July 2022
Implementation plans agreed: 31 October 2022
Open products/services deadline: 31 July 2023
Closed products/services deadline: 31 July 2024
Replaces: Principles 6 (treating customers fairly) and 7 (clear communications) for retail business

Consumer Duty for credit products

Applying the FCA Consumer Duty to credit products, outcomes monitoring, and board reporting

Handling credit complaints and FOS

Complaint handling procedures, 8-week response deadline, and Financial Ombudsman Service referral obligations

What to have in place

FCA authorisation with permissions that cover every credit activity you carry on Pre-contract credit information for every borrower, given in good time before the agreement is made A written complaints procedure that meets the Financial Ombudsman Service time limits The data protection fee paid to the Information Commission (formerly the ICO), unless you are exempt

BNPL and Deferred Payment Credit regulation

FCA regulation since 15 July 2026, the temporary permissions regime, and what BNPL providers must do

Consumer credit compliance quick-check