FCA authorisation

Any business wanting to offer interest bearing retail finance products or terms longer than 12 months legally have to apply for, and acquire, the correct Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation.

If you wish to offer 0% finance up to 12 months you do not need FCA authorisation.

FCA authorisations cost £500 to apply for and then there is an annual fee based on the amount of income derived from financed sales. A typical ACT member should expect to pay between £250-£750 per annum for their FCA authorisation.

Managing your FCA authorisation

Any business that has an FCA authorisation for Secondary Credit Brokering (retail finance) will be required to submit information to the FCA on an annual, biannual or quarterly basis. Most ACT members will be in the annual category.

Failure to submit information to the FCA within the given timeframe will result in fines.

For secondary credit brokering there are two main FCA submissions, CCR007 & CCR008.

For further information visit the FCA website.