CP26/15 is the FCA's proposal to simplify the financial promotion rules for consumer credit in CONC 3. Published on 29 April 2026, it would remove rules the FCA sees as prescriptive or as repeating what the Consumer Duty already requires, while keeping the central rule that promotions must be clear, fair and not misleading. Alongside it, a discussion paper asks a bigger question: whether the APR and the representative example still help consumers compare credit. The consultation closed on 17 June 2026, and new rules would take effect three months after the FCA makes them.
For lenders, brokers and BNPL providers, the practical effect is a shift from checklist compliance to judging whether each promotion actually helps the consumer understand the product.
What CP26/15 proposes
| Proposal | Effect |
|---|---|
| Remove prescriptive CONC 3 provisions that duplicate the Consumer Duty | Fewer specific rules; more reliance on the consumer understanding outcome |
| Keep CONC 3.3.1R, clear, fair and not misleading | Core standard and private right of action under s138D FSMA stay |
| Remove guidance in CONC 3.3.10G(1) to (5) | Less detailed guidance on what is misleading |
| Delete CONC 3.5.12R, restricted expressions | Terms such as restricted phrases no longer banned by rule |
| Remove CONC 3.6, credit secured on land | Rare lending left to high-level rules and the Duty |
| Security and guarantors | Must be stated where always required; not mandatory where it depends on circumstances |
| Remove rules on prominence and plain language | Covered by the Duty's consumer understanding outcome |
What stays the same
The proposals do not loosen the standard. CONC 3.3.1R remains, so every promotion must still be clear, fair and not misleading, and consumers keep their right to sue for breach. The Consumer Duty's consumer understanding outcome applies to all communications, and its price and value and consumer support outcomes still apply to the products being promoted. Section 21 of FSMA, which restricts who may communicate or approve financial promotions, is unaffected. Our guide to CONC compliance covers the wider consumer credit rules.
Other legislation also continues to apply. The Consumer Credit Act's advertising rules, the Advertising Standards Authority's codes and consumer protection law all sit alongside CONC. A promotion that meets the simplified CONC rules can still breach the CAP Code or general consumer law, so firms should keep those checks in their sign-off process.
The discussion on APR and representative examples
The discussion paper does not make firm proposals but signals where the FCA may go next.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Keep the APR, or replace it? | APR is hard to understand and distorts short-term, higher-cost loans |
| Show pounds-and-pence total repayment alongside APR? | FCA testing found it improved identification of the cheaper product by 4 to 53 percentage points |
| Are the representative APR triggers still right? | They drive when the representative example is required |
| Return the 51% threshold to 66%? | The threshold was lowered in 2010 to meet EU requirements |
| Replace "representative" with "typical" or "illustrative"? | Consumers may not understand the current term |
| Do representative examples work in social media, banners, TV and radio? | Industry says they add load in short formats |
Changes here would be the biggest shift in credit advertising for over a decade, so firms should follow the FCA's response closely.
Why the FCA is changing its approach
The CONC 3 rules were largely written before the Consumer Duty, when the FCA relied on detailed requirements to protect consumers. Since July 2023 the Duty has required firms to communicate in a way that supports consumer understanding, and to test and monitor whether that happens. The FCA's view is that keeping both sets of requirements creates duplication without improving outcomes, and that detailed rules can push firms to treat compliance as a checklist.
The FCA is also responding to how credit is advertised today. Many promotions now appear on social media, in apps and in short video, where long-form disclosure is hard to read and representative examples can crowd out the information consumers actually need. Moving to outcomes lets firms design for the format, but it also means the FCA will judge promotions by their effect on consumers, not by the presence of required wording.
What outcomes-based supervision of promotions looks like
| Old question | New question |
|---|---|
| Does the promotion include every required element? | Does the target consumer understand the cost, risks and key terms? |
| Is the representative APR prominent enough? | Can consumers compare the product with alternatives? |
| Are restricted expressions avoided? | Does any wording create a misleading impression for this audience? |
| Was the promotion signed off against the checklist? | Was it tested, and is performance monitored after launch? |
Firms should expect the FCA to ask for evidence: consumer testing results, complaints and customer contact data linked to promotions, and how the firm responded when monitoring showed confusion.
What this means for firms
Lenders and brokers should expect fewer specific rules to check against, but more scrutiny of outcomes. The FCA will ask whether the firm tested how consumers understand its promotions, especially on social media and in short formats, rather than whether each required element appeared.
BNPL providers coming into regulation should design their promotions to the outcomes-based standard from the start. Our guide to BNPL authorisation in 2026 and 2027 covers the wider regime.
Approvers of promotions for unauthorised firms under the s21 gateway should update their approval checklists so they test understanding and fairness rather than the presence of removed elements.
Social media and finfluencers
Credit promotions on social media remain a supervisory priority. The FCA has taken action on promotions that hide key information or that are made by unauthorised influencers. The CP26/15 proposals do not weaken the rules on who may communicate promotions, and the s21 restriction still applies to influencers promoting credit. Firms working with affiliates or influencers should keep approval controls, contracts that require compliance, and monitoring of what is actually posted. Simpler rules make the standard easier to apply in short formats, but they do not remove the need to show that consumers understand what is being offered.
High-cost credit
High-cost short-term credit carries specific risk warnings and price-related protections that sit outside the parts of CONC 3 the FCA proposes to remove. Lenders in this market should not assume the simplification reaches their product-specific requirements, and should check the final rules carefully against each type of promotion they use.
A practical plan
- Keep current CONC 3 controls in place until the FCA publishes final rules and the three-month period ends.
- Map each control in the promotions sign-off process to the rule it serves, and mark those the proposals would remove.
- Decide which controls to keep anyway because they support the consumer understanding outcome.
- Build consumer testing into promotion design, particularly for social media and other short formats.
- Prepare for possible changes to APR and representative examples by reviewing how cost information is presented today.
- Brief the board and the Consumer Duty champion on the change in approach.
Firms should also review their record-keeping. Under an outcomes-based approach, the evidence that a promotion was tested and monitored is what protects the firm in supervision and in complaints. Keep the testing results, sign-off decisions and post-launch monitoring for each promotion, and link them to the product's Consumer Duty outcomes assessment.
How regulatory counsel helps
We review consumer credit promotions and sign-off processes against CONC 3 and the Consumer Duty, design consumer testing for promotions, and update approval frameworks for firms acting under the s21 gateway. Our consumer credit practice supports lenders, brokers and BNPL providers.