“Non-financial lenders” will have to be held accountable. The new law proposed by the NCFM extends supervision to intermediaries and non-financial organizations that provide credit or installment services (including stores and online marketplaces). Installment payment operators and related services (“buy now, pay later”) will come under the regulator’s supervision.
Marketing techniques of trade become a full-fledged financial product. The NCFM will now actively monitor that consumers are informed of the full price, including all hidden fees, even in “0% interest” offers, when buying in installments.
In order to protect consumer rights, hidden overpayments are prohibited and penalties for late payments are strictly limited. Information about installment payments may start to be reflected in the borrower’s credit history, which increases the transparency of such transactions.
“The need for the new regulation is driven both by obligations to harmonize with European Union legislation and by changes in the credit market in recent years. Accelerated digitalization, the expansion of credit offers in the online environment, diversification of financial products and the emergence of new distribution models have highlighted the limitations of the current Credit Contracts Act and the need for a clearer, more modern and better adapted to market realities legal framework”, the commission points out the feasibility of the changes.
What will change
Installment operators must now comply with requirements similar to those imposed on microfinance organizations and banks, making the instrument safer for consumers. In addition, the government is “worried” about limiting the debt burden: From June 2026, strict new limits on loan terms and customer solvency checks are introduced. The regulator aims to prevent over-indebtedness of the population by forcing companies to assess borrowers’ income more strictly.
In the same sense, the bill regulates the specifics of products that provide for deferred payments to suppliers (e.g., stores), explicitly stating the cases when they are excluded from the scope of the law. For example, when payments are made in full within a maximum of 50 days, without interest, without other costs, and without the involvement of a bank, non-bank credit organization or loan and savings credit associations.
In addition to existing obligations, the draft law imposes stricter requirements on lenders regarding promotional materials and methods of communicating pre-contractual information, which will be adapted to the means of communication with the consumer. Rules regarding tying transactions and the purchase of related services are consolidated, and a consumer’s consent will not be inferred from his or her “silence, inaction, or use of pre-marked items.”
Transparency and limits on the value of goods
The draft law sets clear limits on the costs that can be charged to the consumer. Thus, commissions, taxes and costs related to the loan, excluding insurance premiums, costs related to the registration or cancellation of collateral, and costs for the valuation of goods, will not be allowed to exceed 0.02% for each day of actual utilization of the loan in relation to the total amount of the loan.
However, the interest rate will remain capped at 50% for loans granted in local currency and will be capped at 25% for loans pegged to foreign currency. The draft retains the prohibition on the imposition of any charges in case of credit denial, and the total amount of payments due to the consumer will still not be able to exceed the amount paid under the contract.
Debt burden
In relation to late payments, the draft sets clear limits on penalties so that they cannot lead to a disproportionate increase in debt. In case of late payment, penalties will not be allowed to exceed 0.2% for each day of delay of the outstanding amount of the total loan amount.
In certain special situations, this ceiling is reduced to 0.05%, and upon declaration of early repayment of the loan or, as the case may be, upon termination of the agreement, the applicable penalties cannot exceed 0.02% per day of the outstanding amount of the total loan amount.
Intermediaries – in share
The draft also introduces clear rules for participants in the credit distribution and facilitation process. Credit intermediaries are required to comply with registration, transparency and conduct requirements, and counseling services are treated as a separate activity that must be provided for the benefit of the consumer and independent of the lender’s influence.
In parallel, debt counseling services for consumers in financial distress are introduced, as well as an accounting and supervision regime for non-financial lenders, so that all forms of credit are subject to clear consumer protection rules.
With the entry into force of the new law, Law No. 202/2013 on consumer credit contracts will be repealed. Together with the draft of a new law on credit contracts granted to consumers for the purchase of residential real estate (also to be presented soon), this bill, which extends consumer protection to non-financial lenders, will “contribute to strengthening a modern, coherent and unified regulatory framework in consumer lending, focused on greater transparency, responsible lending and strengthening consumer protection,” the National Commission points out.
The draft law on consumer credit contracts will be promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, accordingly, it will be subject to approval and public discussion procedures.
