Spreading the cost is now part of how glasses, lenses and eyecare get sold — from a simple ten-month plan on a £400 pair of varifocals to multi-year packages on premium frames. Whether your practice needs FCA authorisation depends entirely on which kind of plan you offer. Here's the line, drawn properly.
The short answer
If your practice only offers interest-free credit repayable in 12 or fewer instalments within 12 months — whether you fund it yourself or a finance partner does — you are generally outside FCA regulation. The moment you offer anything beyond that — longer terms, interest-bearing options, or a finance platform's wider credit products — you are credit broking, and you need FCA authorisation. For a practice whose main business is eyecare, that means limited permission: the lighter, cheaper route built for exactly this situation.
The plans that usually don't need a licence
Most independent practices' interest-free schemes sit comfortably inside the exemption. The classic patterns: a deposit plus the balance over 3 to 10 monthly direct debits through a finance provider, or a practice-run "easy payment" plan you fund yourself over ten months. Both work because the agreement is interest-free, the instalments number twelve or fewer, and the term stays within a year.
That position also survives the new BNPL rules taking effect on 15 July 2026: those rules regulate the lenders behind interest-free credit, while practices offering it as a payment method remain exempt — our BNPL regulation guide covers the detail. One housekeeping point if a partner funds your plan: from that date your lender must be authorised or in the temporary regime, and they'll be pushing new customer information into your patient journey — expect requests from them.
Worth separating out: a monthly direct debit for an ongoing service — a contact lens supply scheme or an eyecare plan where the patient pays as they receive lenses, checks and aftercare — is generally payment for a subscription, not a credit agreement at all. Different animal, no licence implications.
Where practices cross the line
Three common ways an optical practice ends up needing authorisation. First, longer terms. Premium frames, multiple-pair packages and specialist lenses increasingly get sold over 24 or 36 months — and a plan running past 12 months is a regulated credit agreement even at 0% to the patient. It's no accident that the national chains operate their multi-year plans under FCA permissions, acting as credit brokers. Second, interest-bearing options. Any plan where the patient pays more than the price is regulated credit, full stop. Third, finance platforms. The optical-sector platforms that connect practices to a menu of lenders are genuinely convenient — but several of the products on that menu (running-account credit, longer fixed-term loans) are regulated, and introducing patients to them is regulated credit broking. If any product you present can be regulated credit, you need permission to make the introduction.
The domiciliary wrinkle
Plenty of practices provide home visits for patients who can't get to the practice. If you sell with regulated finance in patients' homes, be aware the rules treat "domestic premises suppliers" more strictly — some of the simpler exemption and introducer routes aren't available, so in-home sellers generally need their own authorisation rather than the lightest-touch arrangements. (For purely interest-free, within-12-months plans, the merchant exemption still applies in-home.) If domiciliary work is part of your model, flag it when you set up your finance offering.
What getting authorised actually involves
For an optical practice, finance is secondary to your main business of eyecare — which is precisely the case limited permission was designed for. The FCA application fee is £560, one person at the practice (usually the owner or a director) is approved as the SMF29 senior manager, and the application is built on a regulatory business plan plus a set of proportionate policies — promotions, complaints, vulnerable customers, Consumer Duty. Some practices instead join a lender's network as an appointed representative; that trades independence for convenience, and it ties you to one principal's products.
Either way, the worst position is the common one: offering a 24-month plan because a rep made it easy, without anyone checking the permission question. Brokering regulated credit without authorisation is a criminal offence and can make agreements unenforceable. Two minutes on our eligibility checker tells you which side of the line your current offering sits on.
Frequently asked questions
- Can my practice offer an interest-free payment plan without a licence?
Generally yes, if the plan is interest-free, repayable in 12 or fewer instalments, and runs for 12 months or less — whether you fund it yourself or a finance partner lends. Outside those limits (longer terms, interest, or wider credit products) you are credit broking and need FCA authorisation, typically limited permission.
- Do the 2026 BNPL rules change anything for opticians?
From 15 July 2026 the lenders behind interest-free instalment credit become FCA-regulated, but practices offering it as a payment method stay exempt. Check that your finance partner is authorised or in the temporary permissions regime, and expect them to add required customer information to your patient journey.
- Is a monthly contact lens scheme a credit agreement?
Usually not. Where the patient pays monthly for ongoing supply and care as they receive it, that's payment for a subscription service rather than credit. A credit agreement arises when the patient receives goods now and pays later — like spreading the cost of a pair of glasses after collection.
- We offer a 24-month spread-the-cost plan at 0%. Are we exempt?
No. The exemption only covers interest-free credit within 12 months and 12 instalments. A 24- or 36-month plan is a regulated credit agreement even at 0% to the patient, and introducing patients to it is regulated credit broking — the national chains run such plans under FCA permissions for exactly this reason.
This article is general information to help you understand the process, and is not legal or regulatory advice. CreditLicence is a regulatory consultancy; it is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, nothing it provides is regulated advice, and it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the FCA. FCA rules can change; always check the FCA's website for the current position.