FCA consumer credit authorisation: key facts & figures (2026)
The verified numbers on one page — fees, decision timelines, annual costs, reporting deadlines, the 0% exemption and the July BNPL dates. Free to cite.
Read the guide → Offering financeCan you offer 0% finance without an FCA licence?
Interest-free doesn't automatically mean exempt. The precise rule on 0% credit, and the common mistake that catches businesses out.
Read the guide → Who needs a licenceDo furniture retailers need an FCA licence?
Furniture and sofa retailers offering pay-monthly or interest-free finance almost always need authorisation. Which permission, and why.
Read the guide → Who needs a licenceDo gyms need an FCA licence for membership finance?
When a paid-monthly membership is just a subscription, and when it becomes regulated credit needing FCA authorisation.
Read the guide → ApplyingFCA authorisation: sole trader vs limited company
How your business structure affects the application — the SMF29 responsible person, and what changes if you incorporate later.
Read the guide → ApplyingWhat happens after the FCA approves your application?
Authorisation granted — now what? The Register, going live, your first regulatory returns, and staying compliant.
Read the guide → CostHow much does a consumer credit licence cost?
Every cost broken down — the FCA's own fee, the three ways to prepare your application (DIY, consultancy or fixed price), and the ongoing annual fee.
Read the guide → GuideLimited permission vs full permission: which does your business need?
The difference between the two FCA tiers, which activities fall into each, what they cost, and a simple test for telling which one applies to you.
Read the guide → GuideWhat is credit broking? The FCA definition explained
The regulated activity most businesses are doing without realising it — what counts, what doesn't, and why introducing customers to a lender needs authorisation.
Read the guide → GuideAppointed representative vs direct FCA authorisation
The two legal routes to offering finance, compared on cost, control, lender choice and responsibility — and how to tell which one suits your business.
Read the guide → ComplianceThe Consumer Duty, explained for businesses offering finance
The FCA's biggest recent conduct change — what the four outcomes mean if you offer customers finance, your obligations as a credit broker, and how to comply.
Read the guide → Getting startedDo I need an FCA licence to offer customers finance?
If you let customers pay using a third-party lender, you usually need authorisation — even as a sideline. When a licence is required, and the exceptions.
Read the guide → ComplianceWhat happens if you offer finance without FCA authorisation?
It breaches the law — with real consequences for you, your customers and your lenders. What's at stake, and what to do if you think you're affected.
Read the guide → ProcessHow long does FCA consumer credit authorisation take?
The FCA's statutory deadlines, what really drives the timeline, and how to keep your application moving rather than stalling.
Read the guide → Getting startedFCA limited permission: what you can and can't do
The lighter-touch route for firms offering finance as a sideline — what it covers, what needs full permission instead, and who qualifies.
Read the guide → ChoosingFCA authorisation: doing it yourself vs using a service
DIY, a compliance consultant, or a fixed-price service — an honest comparison of cost, time and the risk of getting it wrong.
Read the guide → CostHow much does an FCA compliance consultant cost?
Typical consultant fee ranges for a consumer credit application, what drives the cost, and a cheaper fixed-price alternative.
Read the guide → ProcessHow to submit your application on FCA Connect
A plain-English walkthrough of the FCA's Connect system — the steps, the documents you upload, and how to pay the fee.
Read the guide → ProcessWhat the FCA expects in your regulatory business plan
The most important document in your application — the sections the FCA expects it to cover, and why generic, templated plans get rejected.
Read the guide → ComplianceFCA financial promotions: advertising finance compliantly
How to advertise finance within the rules — clear, fair and not misleading, when you need a representative APR or example, and disclosing commission.
Read the guide → News & rulesBNPL regulation from 15 July 2026: what it means for merchants
Buy now, pay later becomes FCA-regulated. Why merchants offering it stay exempt — including in-home sellers — and who still needs authorisation.
Read the guide → ComplianceAfter authorisation: your ongoing FCA obligations
Authorisation isn't the end — the annual RegData report, FCA fees, notifications and conduct rules that keep a limited-permission firm compliant.
Read the guide → Costs & feesFCA consumer credit licence fees: application & annual
The £550 limited permission application fee, the annual fee that follows, and the levies and late-return charges to budget for.
Read the guide → ApplyingWhat is SMF29? The senior manager rule for small firms
Who holds SMF29, what they're accountable for, and how the FCA's fit and proper approval works for limited permission firms.
Read the guide → Car dealersDo car dealers need FCA authorisation to offer finance?
When a dealer needs authorisation, why introducing finance counts as credit broking, which permission you need, the appointed-representative alternative, and what it costs.
Read the guide → Dentists & clinicsDo dentists need an FCA licence to offer patient finance?
When a dental or healthcare practice needs authorisation to offer patient finance, which permission you need, the AR alternative, and what it costs. Applies to clinics, vets and opticians too.
Read the guide → OpticiansDo opticians need an FCA licence to offer finance?
When a practice's interest-free plan is exempt, when 24-month spread-the-cost crosses the line, and the domiciliary wrinkle.
Read the guide → Home improvementDo home improvement companies need an FCA licence to offer finance?
When installers need authorisation, the in-home "domestic premises supplier" rule that affects you specifically, which permission you need, and what it costs.
Read the guide → RetailersDo retailers need an FCA licence to offer finance?
When a shop needs authorisation, the 2026 buy-now-pay-later exemption and its two big exceptions, which permission you need, and what it costs.
Read the guide → JewellersDo jewellers need an FCA licence to offer finance?
24–36 month plans are regulated even at 0% — plus the cash-payment AML rules and where pawnbroking sits.
Read the guide → VetsDo vets need an FCA licence to offer pet treatment finance?
When a veterinary practice needs authorisation, how treatment finance differs from pet insurance, which permission you need, and what it costs.
Read the guide → GuideHow to get an FCA consumer credit licence: a step-by-step guide
What the "consumer credit licence" really is, who needs one, the documents involved, what it costs, and how long it takes — start to finish.
Read the guide →