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22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

8 Mar 2024

Daniel Blackham, editor of industry magazine BikeBiz, has been writing about his experience of completing the Cytech technical one qualification at training provider Spokes People in Milton...

6 Mar 2024

Cytech partner Activate Cycle Academy, the largest and most recognised training provider of bike maintenance and technical training courses to the UK’s cycle industry, recently welcomed a...

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

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Processing time for FCA applications set to rise - submit yours today

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

If you've been thinking about offering your customers finance but haven't yet started the application process, now is the time to act!

Since 1st April 2014 when the FCA took over responsibility for Consumer Credit, changes were made which mean you could be offering your customers finance (with a range of APRs and loan lengths) for just £100 by submitting an application to the FCA.

According to the latest FCA Data Bulletin the average turnaround time from application to acceptance is 7.7 weeks. However, the FCA now say this is set to increase.

The FCA state: "We expect that the average time to determine an application will increase over time. This is because application volumes have been increasing and we will still be determining the more complex applications from earlier application periods, so a larger proportion of applications will be taking longer to determine."

Submit your application to the FCA today to ensure your application is approved as quickly as possible. Alternatively, you could consider offering only 0% finance up to 12 months, as you no longer need to be authorised to carry out this type of activity.

As announced on 18th March, retailers who offer 0% (interest free) finance up to 12 months no longer have to be authorised and regulated by the FCA, or be liable for the annual fees and charges involved.

This means any cycles or outdoor retailer can simply apply to V12 immediately and be offering 0% finance in time for the busy summer months.

There are currently over 800 retailers offering finance through ActSmart's Ride it away and Take it outdoors schemes, accounting for £60m of new sales every year!

Ride it away and Take it outdoors are available exclusively to ActSmart Gold subscribers who will benefit from:

  • Free V12 set-up worth £495
  • Personal support throughout the application and FCA authorisation process
  • No minimum finance turnover requirement
  • Payment issued by V12 same day and in your bank within 4 days
  • National promotion on the Ride it away and Take it outdoors consumer websites
  • Access to FCA compliant in-store POS material
  • Access to web banners and a customisable finance calculator for use on your own website

So, whether you want to offer the full range of APRs and loan lengths to give you more control over your margins and sales, or you just want to make 0% finance available, contact us today to get started.

Click here to find out more and request your free application pack or contact us on 0845 618 7256.

Already offering finance? Make the most of it!

Ride it away and Take it outdoors is not just for the big ticket items like bikes; you can also offer customers the opportunity to spread the cost of parts and accessories on their own, in a bundle or as an add on to a larger purchase. Giving customers the opportunity to buy whatever they want makes up-selling easy.

By spreading the cost, higher quality items become affordable and additional products can be added to the transaction for only a few extra pounds per month.

One of the easiest ways to do more sales via finance is to make your customers aware of the options available to them. Use POS items on products to show just how little an item can cost each month.

A full range of FCA compliant POS is available, including ceiling banners, swing tickets and window stickers. Click here to find out more.

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