Changes to consumer credit regulations – what does this mean for lenders?

The regulations governing consumer credit will change on 20 November 2026. However, the change will not affect the information reported by lenders to the register. Lenders’ reporting will continue to be based on the Act on the Positive Credit Register.

Interest-free and cost-free loans to be brought within the scope of regulation

Following the change, the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act relating to consumer credit will also apply to interest-free and cost- free loans. However, lenders should note that information regarding such loans is not reported to the Positive credit register if no interest or other charges are levied on the loan. In practice, therefore, the change will have little impact on lenders’ operations.

Clarification of the definition of credit costs

The definition of credit costs will also be clarified in an update to the Consumer Protection Act. Lenders should bear the following points in mind in future:

• Costs arising from breaches of contract (such as late payment charges) will not be included in the information reported to the Positive credit register. For the sake of clarity, this restriction will also be included in the Act on the Positive Credit Register.
• Lenders must continue to report to the register all the credit costs associated with consumer credit as defined in the Consumer Protection Act.
• The reporting guidelines will not describe in detail all the types of costs that must be reported.

Who are required to submit reports?

An update to the Consumer Credit Directive will also see an expansion in the number of operators included in the register of lenders and credit intermediaries. However, this does not mean that the number of lenders reporting data to the Positive credit register will increase in the same proportion:

• The reporting obligation does not apply to business operators entered in the register of lenders and credit intermediaries who grant consumer credit solely for the purpose of financing their own products or services.
• Such operators will continue to be exempt from the obligation to report to the Positive credit register.

We are updating our instructions

We will update the instructions for reporting data in the Positive credit register so that they reflect the updated Consumer Protection Act. The changes to the instructions will mainly involve standardising the wording. We will publish an updated version of the instructions on our website on 20 November 2026.

Why is this change are being made?

The change is based on the EU Consumer Credit Directive (EU 2023/2225) The legislative amendments implementing the Directive were adopted in Finland in January 2026 and will enter into force on 20 November 2026.