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Consumer Credit FCA Authorisation The FCA has regulated consumer credit since early 2014. Firms who have had a previous OFT licence will be aware that under the FCA the regulation is stricter, with more emphasis on compliance, and reporting. The FCA are more hands on and some firms have had it somewhat easy from a regulatory point of view under the OFT. Obtaining authorisation can be seen as a daunting task by many, with the requirement to meet specific FCA rules, have certain documentation in place and demonstrate effective systems and controls. We only provide support for specific consumer credit activities; these are firms that require credit broking permission such as mortgage and loan brokers, and debt management firms.
Consumer Credit Authorisation We can help firms who are either already authorised by the FCA and need to apply for full consumer credit permission to firms who need to apply for a new licence. The application process is completed online on the FCA's CONNECT system, previously known as ONA. Some firms will already have logins but if not registration for the system is easy enough via the FCA website. A big part of the application process is the supplementary documentation required to either be sent in or have in place ready for inspection if asked. These include; a business plan, compliance monitoring plan, compliance procedures, Business risk and continuity etc. You will also have to submit projected figures, such as cash flow, profit and loss etc. Whilst we cannot help prepare the financials for your business we can provide support during the application process. This could be anything from supplying certain documents, checking over an application before submission, support with certain questions or full support.
Compliance Support Once the application is submitted it can take anywhere up to 6 months for approval for a completed application, and 12 months for an incomplete application. The timescales vary we find dependent on the permissions being applied for, complexity of the business and sometimes the case manager you are assigned at the FCA. Following authorisation we can provide various compliance support options from ad-hoc support to regular support with visits. The FCA would expect you to have appropriate systems and controls in place, and be able to evidence checks have been carried out. Either annually or six monthly you will be expected to submit reports to the FCA, these reports will detail the business you have done during the period and financials of the business. We can provide file checking, call recording monitoring checks on any frequency required, as well as a wide range of template documents, helpdesk support, support with TCF, T&C, advertising and financial returns to the FCA.
For a no-obligation quote please contact us or complete the online enquiry form.
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