CCD2—Directive (EU) 2023/2225—replaces Directive 2008/48/EC and rewrites the rules on consumer credit in the European Union. It is the new Consumer Credit Directive, and we support lenders, intermediaries and platforms through the full adaptation: scope, advertising, pre-contractual information, creditworthiness assessment, the agreement and the life of the credit.
CCD2 impact assessment
We reply in under 24 hours
Both terms refer to the same law. “Consumer Credit Directive” (in Spanish, “Directiva de crédito al consumo” or, in the equally common plural form, “directiva de créditos al consumo”) is the name by which the European framework governing these agreements is known; “CCD2” is the short form the industry uses for its second generation, the one that replaces the 2008 text.
CCD2 is Directive (EU) 2023/2225 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 18, 2023 on credit agreements for consumers. It repeals Directive 2008/48/EC (known as CCD or CCD1) and substantially broadens both the range of credit covered and the lender’s obligations.
The full English name of this directive is Consumer Credit Directive 2; it is also cited as CCD II and by its CELEX identifier 32023L2225. In the Spanish market it is called, interchangeably, the nueva directiva de créditos al consumo (new Consumer Credit Directive), the nueva directiva de créditos or simply CCD2.
The Consumer Credit Directive is the EU law that harmonizes consumer protection when a consumer takes out non-mortgage credit: advertising, pre-contractual information, assessment of repayment capacity, contract content, right of withdrawal, early repayment and the handling of non-payment.
In Spain it applies through Law 16/2011 on Consumer Credit Agreements, which is the law that must be adapted to the new EU text.
CCD2 is not a cosmetic reform of the previous text. It changes the perimeter of regulated credit, tightens the stage before signing and, for the first time, requires Member States to intervene on the cost of credit. This table summarizes the leap between the two generations of the Consumer Credit Directive.
| Topic | Directive 2008/48/EC · CCD1 | Directive (EU) 2023/2225 · CCD2 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope by amount CCD2, Art. 2 |
Credit between €200 and €75,000. | The lower threshold disappears and the ceiling rises to €100,000. | Expanded |
| Products covered | Traditional consumer loans and credit, with broad exclusions. | Deferred payment such as BNPL, credit free of interest and charges, leasing with an option to purchase and credit offered through crowdfunding platforms are brought in. | New |
| Advertising | Standard basic information through a representative example. | The representative example remains and a standard warning on the cost of borrowing is added, with prominence rules. | Strengthened |
| Pre-contractual information | SECCI form provided in good time. | SECCI plus a standardized summary on the first page, designed for mobile screens, and express rules on when it is provided relative to signing. | New |
| Creditworthiness assessment CCD2, Art. 18 |
General duty to assess on the basis of sufficient information. | It specifies what information may be used, requires it to be relevant and accurate, and regulates reasoned refusals. | Strengthened |
| Data and automated decisions | No specific rules beyond data protection. | The categories of data that may be used are limited, and there is a right to an explanation and to human intervention when the decision is automated. | New |
| Tying practices | Fragmented regime that depends on national law. | General ban on tying practices, with limited exceptions; bundling remains possible under certain conditions. | New |
| Right of withdrawal CCD2, Art. 26 |
Fourteen days from conclusion of the agreement or from receipt of the terms. | The fourteen days remain, and the way the period is calculated is clarified for cases where contractual information arrives late. | Unchanged |
| Early repayment | Right to a reduction in the cost and limited compensation for the lender. | The extent of the reduction in the total cost is clarified, and the cases and limits for compensation are adjusted. | Clarified |
| Caps on the cost of credit CCD2, Art. 31 |
No EU requirement; each Member State decides. | Member States must set caps on the borrowing rate, the APR (TAE) or the total cost of credit to the consumer. | New |
| Non-payment and restructuring | Left to national law. | Obligation to consider reasonable restructuring measures before starting enforcement and to offer access to debt advisory services. | New |
| Lenders and intermediaries | Limited requirement for adequate registration and supervision. | Admission, registration and supervision regime for non-bank lenders and intermediaries, with fit and proper requirements and staff knowledge requirements. | Strengthened |
Summary table for information purposes only. Figures and thresholds should be checked against the current text of Directive (EU) 2023/2225 and the Spanish transposing law before being used as the basis for a decision.
Six workstreams to turn the articles of CCD2 into procedures, templates and evidence that can be shown to a supervisor. We work with credit institutions, EFCs, non-bank lenders, deferred payment platforms and marketplaces that finance their buyers.
We redesign the lending procedure so that the information collected is relevant and verifiable, the decision is reasoned and the file can be reconstructed years later. This includes the treatment of automated models and the applicant’s right to an explanation.
We review the standardized information form, the new summary information, the timing of delivery, the durable medium and the proof that the consumer received it. We also review ad creatives and comparison sites so that your credit advertising withstands an inspection.
The product where the Consumer Credit Directive bites hardest: periodic information, credit limit reviews, minimum payment and reassessment of repayment capacity when the balance is replenished.
Interest-free installment payments come within the scope of the Consumer Credit Directive. We adapt the digital sign-up flow of platforms and merchants that finance their customers.
CCD2 requires an admission, registration and supervision regime for non-bank lenders and intermediaries. We prepare the application file and the required governance structure.
Policy for handling non-payment, reasonable restructuring measures before enforcement, and responses to complaints filed with the customer service department and with the supervisor.
The change of perimeter is the new feature of the Consumer Credit Directive with the greatest practical consequences. Transactions that until now were designed precisely to stay outside the Consumer Credit Directive—small amounts, interest-free financing, paying in three installments—now fall within it, with all the documentation burden that entails.
| Type of transaction | Treatment | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Point-of-sale deferred payment (BNPL) | In | The checkout now needs pre-contractual information, a creditworthiness assessment and a right of withdrawal. |
| Credit free of interest and other charges | In | Being free of charge is no longer a route to exclusion: the regime still applies, with adjustments. |
| Credit below €200 | In | Microcredit comes within the perimeter and brings an obligation of prior assessment and documentation. |
| Credit between €75,000 and €100,000 | In | High-value consumer transactions that used to fall outside are now covered. |
| Leasing with an option to purchase | In | Vehicle leasing with an option to purchase is no longer treated as a simple lease. |
| Credit through crowdfunding platforms | In | Platforms that intermediate consumer credit take on their own information obligations. |
| Tacit overdraft (overrunning) | Specific regime | Enhanced information obligations when the overdraft continues over time. |
| Leasing with no option or obligation to purchase | Out | Pure leasing (renting) remains outside, provided it does not conceal a financed purchase. |
| Credit secured by a mortgage or intended to acquire real estate | Out | Separate regime under real estate credit rules (in Spain, Law 5/2019). |
| Interest-free credit from an employer to its staff | Out | The exclusion applies only if the credit is offered on an ancillary basis and at no cost. |
| Credit arising from a settlement or a court decision | Out | Payment deferrals agreed before an authority or in court are excluded. |
| Credit secured by a deposited item | Limited regime | Partial application when the consumer’s liability is limited to the pledged item. |
The Consumer Credit Directive’s exclusions are interpreted strictly, and several depend on options each Member State may exercise when transposing. Before relying on an exclusion for a product, it is advisable to confirm how Spanish law has implemented it.
Five milestones separate the adoption of the EU text from its actual application to the agreements you will sign with your customers. The third and fourth are the ones that shape your work plan between now and the end of the year.
Directive (EU) 2023/2225 is adopted on October 18, 2023 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. From that moment its content is known and stable: there is no reason to wait for the national law before starting to map the impact on your product.
Article 48 of the Directive sets this date as the deadline for Member States to adopt and publish the provisions needed to comply with it. Once the deadline has passed, the effects that EU law attaches to directives not transposed on time come into play.
Spain approves the draft Consumer Credit Agreements Bill (anteproyecto) and the draft royal decree implementing it, with a public consultation open until January 30, 2026. The text will repeal Law 16/2011 and adds its own regime of caps on the cost of credit. The law has not yet been published in the BOE: we analyze it in detail further down, in the Spanish transposition.
The transposing provisions apply from this date. Directive 2008/48/EC is repealed with effect from that same date, under Article 49 of Directive (EU) 2023/2225. This is the date that should drive your plan: contracts, information forms, advertising copy and sign-up flows must be ready before it, not on the day itself.
Agreements concluded before the date of application remain under the previous regime, with important exceptions for open-ended and revolving credit, where certain information and review obligations do reach the existing portfolio. This is the point that most surprises institutions with cards in circulation.
On January 7, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Consumer Credit Agreements Bill and the draft royal decree implementing it, with a public consultation open until January 30, 2026. The text will repeal Law 16/2011 and, although it is designed to transpose the new Consumer Credit Directive, it goes much further than the Directive requires on one specific point: cost caps.
| Case | Envisaged cap | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Credit up to €1,500 | Average rate + 15 percentage points | The reference average rate is published by the Bank of Spain, and quarterly updates are envisaged. |
| Credit from €1,500 to €6,000 | Average rate + 10 percentage points | |
| Credit over €6,000 | Average rate + 8 percentage points | |
| Transitional regime | 22% APR | Applies to new transactions until implementing regulations are adopted. |
| High-cost credit | 4% monthly interest and a maximum arrangement fee of 5%, capped at €30 | Restricted to terms of between three and twelve months. The Ministry’s press release illustrates the effect with a €300 microloan over 30 days: its cost would fall from an average of around €103 to a maximum of €20. |
| Tacit overdraft | Annual effective rate no higher than 2.5 times the statutory interest rate (interés legal del dinero) | Combined cap on interest and fees. |
| Type | What it means | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved activity | Granting consumer credit on a professional basis becomes an activity reserved to authorized and registered entities. | Lending by an unauthorized party is penalized and affects the validity of the agreement. |
| EFCAL | Limited-activity financial credit establishment (Establecimiento Financiero de Crédito de Actividad Limitada): a new category alongside the existing financial credit establishments. | Minimum capital of €5 million and supervision by the Bank of Spain. |
| Authorized high-cost lender | A category designed for small-amount, short-term credit that currently operates outside the supervised perimeter. | Term of between three and twelve months and stricter caps on interest and fees. |
| Credit intermediaries | Become subject to authorization, registration and staff knowledge requirements. | Covers merchants and platforms that intermediate consumer financing. |
| Block | Envisaged timing |
|---|---|
| General rule | Twenty days after publication of the law in the BOE. |
| Information obligations, high-cost lender regime and cost caps | Three months after publication. |
| Conduct and organizational rules | Twelve months after publication. |
| Application of Directive (EU) 2023/2225 | November 20, 2026, under its Article 48. |
Legislative status: the draft bill is still going through the process and the law has not been published in the BOE. The figures above come from the text submitted to public consultation and from the press release of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business; they may change during the parliamentary process and in the implementing regulations. See the official sources section to go to the original text.
The cost of not adapting does not materialize on the day the rules start to apply: it shows up months later, when a customer complains, when the supervisor asks for a sample of files or when a court reviews an agreement signed with the old templates.
Agreements signed with outdated templates: the minimum content of the agreement changes with the new Consumer Credit Directive. Continuing to use the old template after the date of application creates a defect that is repeated across everything signed in that period, not in a single transaction.
Products that are no longer out of scope: interest-free deferred payment and small-amount credit were designed to stay outside. If the sign-up flow does not include pre-contractual information or a creditworthiness assessment, the whole product is exposed from day one.
Advertising not adapted: ad creatives, comparison sites and product pages need reviewing. Advertising is the first thing an inspection looks at because it is public, dated and does not require asking the institution for documents.
The Consumer Credit Directive requires Member States to set caps on the borrowing rate, the APR or the total cost of credit. A product whose margin depends on sitting above those caps needs rethinking before they are known, not after.
The information and review obligations for open-ended credit reach agreements already signed. A portfolio of cards in circulation is not fixed by changing the template for new agreements.
Refusing credit through a model without being able to explain the logic applied or offer human intervention opens two fronts: the Consumer Credit Directive, and the data protection and artificial intelligence rules.
We analyze your credit catalog against CCD2 and give you an impact map by product: what falls within the new scope, which documents change, what needs rebuilding and in what order.
A well-planned adaptation project for the new Consumer Credit Directive does not start with the legal text: it starts with the product inventory and a map of where the evidence for each obligation is kept. These are the three building blocks and the order in which to tackle them.
Before touching any contract, list every financing product you offer—including those you do not currently regard as credit—and decide for each one whether it falls within the scope of the Consumer Credit Directive. Deferred payment and small amounts are where most surprises arise.
Advertising, the pre-contractual information form, the prior summary, the agreement, periodic communications and arrears notices form a single chain. Changing one piece without reviewing the others creates contradictions between documents, which is exactly what a well-prepared complaint looks for.
The Consumer Credit Directive does not only require you to inform and assess: it requires you to be able to prove it. For each obligation, define where the record is kept, in what format, with what timestamp and how long your team would take to retrieve it if asked tomorrow.
If you want to test your CCD2 adaptation plan, see our fintech regulation services or request a free consultation.
Two products that are treated very differently today end up sharing a regime. This comparison summarizes where the real effort lies for each one: for the term loan, in updating documents; for deferred payment, in building from scratch a flow that never had credit obligations.
| Topic | Personal term loan | Deferred payment / BNPL |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Covered by the Consumer Credit Directive since 2008. | Usually designed to stay outside the scope: low amounts, no interest, short terms. |
| Pre-contractual information | A SECCI form exists; it needs to be redone and the first-page summary added. | Usually does not exist. It must be built and inserted into a checkout designed to be frictionless. |
| Creditworthiness assessment | Existing procedure; data sources need to be limited and refusals reasoned. | Often replaced by anti-fraud rules. Risk analysis must be separated from the assessment of repayment capacity. |
| Right of withdrawal | Already recognized and operational at most institutions. | Must be coordinated with the return of the purchased product, which follows different rules. |
| Early repayment | Known rules; the calculation of the cost reduction should be reviewed. | Relevant for installment plans with a cost; irrelevant when the transaction is genuinely free. |
| Allocation of responsibility | The obligations rest with the lender. | The merchant and the platform share roles that the law does not always define: they need to be set by contract. |
| Where the effort lies | Updating existing documentation and procedures. | Building a complete credit function within a product conceived as a means of payment. |
General analysis for information purposes only; the specific fit depends on the design of each product and on the final content of the Spanish transposing law.
REGULATORY CONTROL CENTER · CONSUMER CREDIT DIRECTIVE
CCD2 applies equally to everyone, but the adaptation effort is not evenly spread. A credit institution starts from existing procedures; a deferred payment platform starts from scratch in almost every box. This panel shows where to focus your team.
An indicative guide for prioritizing the project: where each type of operator starts from and which block usually takes up the most team time.
CCD2 adaptation projects almost always fail in the same places. None of these mistakes is about legal interpretation (the text of the Consumer Credit Directive has been public since 2023): they are all about planning.
The content of the Directive has been known and stable since October 2023, and the Spanish draft bill since January 2026. Waiting for the BOE squeezes the product inventory, the document chain and training into a few weeks, just when every law firm and provider is overloaded.
Changing the template is the visible part and the cheapest one. The expensive part is the flow: where pre-contractual information is shown, how its delivery is recorded, what is kept from the creditworthiness assessment and who can retrieve it three years later.
Deferred payment, interest-free installments and leasing with an option to purchase are often left out of the inventory because they are managed by the business side, not by risk. They are precisely the ones coming into scope for the first time.
The general rule is that earlier agreements keep their regime, but for open-ended and revolving credit some obligations do reach agreements already signed. A card portfolio is not fixed by changing the new agreements.
Verifying that applicants are who they say they are and estimating the probability of default protect the institution. The creditworthiness assessment protects the consumer and answers a different question: whether they will be able to pay without compromising their financial situation. They are different procedures, with different evidence.
If the product’s margin depends on sitting above the cap set by Spanish law, documentation will not solve the problem. It is advisable to simulate the effect of the envisaged spreads on the portfolio before the text is finalized.
Terms that appear constantly in the articles of the Consumer Credit Directive, in adaptation projects and in customer complaints. Legal, product and business teams should agree on their meaning before starting.
Second Consumer Credit Directive. Adopted on October 18, 2023, it replaces Directive 2008/48/EC and broadens both the perimeter of regulated credit and the lender’s obligations.
The previous EU consumer credit framework, transposed in Spain by Law 16/2011. It is repealed on the day after the CCD2 date of application.
A form setting out the essential terms of the credit that lets consumers compare offers from different lenders. CCD2 keeps it and adds a prominent summary on the first page.
The total cost of credit expressed as an annual percentage, calculated with a single formula across the EU. It is the figure that makes two offers with different fee structures comparable.
A prior assessment of whether the consumer will be able to meet the installments given their financial situation. CCD2 specifies what information may be used and requires refusals to be reasoned.
The consumer’s right to cancel the agreement within fourteen calendar days, without having to give reasons and without penalty.
The right to repay the credit in full or in part before it is due, with a reduction in the total cost and compensation for the lender subject to limits.
A credit line whose available balance is replenished as it is repaid. It concentrates the obligations of periodic information and review of repayment capacity.
A medium that allows consumers to store information addressed to them, access it in the future and reproduce it unchanged. A web page with no download or copy option is not one on its own.
CCD2 is Directive (EU) 2023/2225 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 18, 2023 on credit agreements for consumers. It replaces Directive 2008/48/EC, which still applies today through Law 16/2011.
The acronym comes from the English Consumer Credit Directive: the “2” distinguishes this second generation from the 2008 one. In technical documentation it also appears as CCD II.
There are two dates that should not be confused. The first is the transposition deadline, November 20, 2025: the date Article 48 of the Directive set for Member States to have adopted their rules. The second is the date of application, November 20, 2026: the point from which those rules take effect.
For an institution, the date that drives the project is the second one, but the work must be finished before it: contracts, information forms and flows are not changed on the day itself.
Yes. It is probably the change with the greatest operational consequences. CCD2 removes the minimum amount threshold and no longer excludes credit free of interest and charges, so point-of-sale installment payments come within the scope of the Consumer Credit Directive.
That means pre-contractual information, an assessment of repayment capacity, minimum contract content and a right of withdrawal, all within a checkout designed precisely to be frictionless.
Excluded, among others, are leasing with no option or obligation to purchase, credit secured by a mortgage or intended to acquire real estate (which has its own regime under Law 5/2019), interest-free credit from an employer to its staff, and payment deferrals arising from a settlement or a court decision.
Bear in mind that exclusions are interpreted strictly and that several depend on options each Member State may exercise when transposing.
Three things. First, what can be looked at: the information must be relevant and accurate, and the categories of data that may be used are limited. Second, how the decision is made: refusals must be communicated with reasons. Third, what rights the applicant has when the decision relies on automated processing: an explanation of the logic applied and human intervention.
In practice, the critical point is not changing the policy but being able to show, years later, what information was considered and which rule was applied.
As a general rule, agreements concluded before the date of application continue to be governed by the previous regime. The important exception is open-ended and revolving credit: certain information and review obligations do reach the existing portfolio.
For an institution with cards in circulation, this turns the adaptation into a project that also affects current customers, not just new ones. We cover it in detail on our revolving credit page.
The Directive does not set a figure itself, but its Article 31 requires Member States to set caps on the borrowing rate, the annual percentage rate of charge or the total cost of credit. This is a major change: until now that decision was entirely in national hands, and Spain dealt with it through case law, under its anti-usury legislation.
The Spanish draft bill does set figures: a maximum APR built as a spread over the average rate published by the Bank of Spain—15 percentage points up to €1,500, 10 points between €1,500 and €6,000 and 8 points above €6,000—with a 22% APR as a transitional regime until implementing regulations are adopted. You can see the details in the Spanish transposition.
The law in force is Law 16/2011 of June 24 on Consumer Credit Agreements, which transposed Directive 2008/48/EC. On January 7, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a draft new Consumer Credit Agreements Bill that will repeal it in full, together with a draft implementing royal decree; the public consultation closed on January 30, 2026.
The law has not yet been published in the BOE. On top of that framework sit the data protection rules and, when the decision is automated, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.
The Consumer Credit Directive introduces an admission, registration and supervision regime for non-bank lenders and credit intermediaries, with fit and proper requirements for those in charge and knowledge requirements for staff. The Spanish draft bill goes further and makes granting consumer credit on a professional basis a reserved activity, subject to authorization by and registration with the Bank of Spain, with two new types of entity: the limited-activity financial credit establishment (EFCAL) and the authorized high-cost lender.
If your project involves applying for or extending a license, you may be interested in our payment institution license page.
A Member State’s delay does not put the matter on hold. Once the deadline has passed, EU law attaches certain effects to directives that have not been transposed and requires national law to be interpreted in line with them, in addition to opening the way to infringement proceedings against the State.
For an institution, the practical consequence is that waiting for the Spanish law to be published is not a safe strategy: the content of the Directive has been known and stable since 2023, and the work on inventory, documents and procedures can start without waiting.
The draft bill does not set a fixed number but a spread over the average rate published by the Bank of Spain, with quarterly updates envisaged: 15 percentage points for credit up to €1,500, 10 points between €1,500 and €6,000 and 8 points above €6,000.
Until implementing regulations are adopted, a transitional regime with a maximum APR of 22% is envisaged for new transactions. For tacit overdrafts, the proposed cap is 2.5 times the statutory interest rate. These figures come from a text still going through the legislative process and may change: check them against the official document before making product decisions.
It is a category of entity created by the Spanish draft bill for small-amount, short-term credit that today largely operates outside the supervised perimeter: microloans, quick loans and financing on digital platforms.
The envisaged regime requires Bank of Spain authorization, limits the term to between three and twelve months and subjects the transaction to specific caps: maximum interest of 4% per month and a maximum arrangement fee of 5%, capped at €30. The Ministry’s own press release illustrates the effect with a €300 microloan over thirty days, whose cost would fall from an average of around €103 to a maximum of €20.
Yes. They are two names for the same text. The official title refers to “credit agreements for consumers” (in Spanish, “contratos de crédito al consumo”), which gives rise both to the singular form—directiva de crédito al consumo—and to the plural form most used in the Spanish market: directiva de créditos al consumo. To stress that it is the 2023 directive and not the 2008 one, people speak of the nueva directiva de créditos al consumo (new Consumer Credit Directive) or, simply, of CCD2.
Worth bearing in mind when searching for documentation: under these four names you will find commentary on the same law, Directive (EU) 2023/2225.
Everything this page says about the new Consumer Credit Directive comes from published legislation or from official documents in the legislative process. These are the primary links, so you can check it without intermediaries. The CCD2 points correspond to Articles 2 (scope), 18 (creditworthiness assessment), 26 (withdrawal), 31 (cost caps), 48 (transposition) and 49 (repeal) of Directive (EU) 2023/2225.
The authentic text of CCD2 in Spanish, with its European Legislation Identifier (ELI). Published in the Official Journal of the EU on October 30, 2023.
eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2225/oj BOEReference to the Directive in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE), with access to the PDF of the original publication (pages 1–67).
boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=DOUE-L-2023-81526 BOEConsolidated text of the Spanish law in force, which transposed Directive 2008/48/EC and which the draft bill now in progress will repeal.
boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2011-10970 Ministry of EconomyOfficial page of the public hearing and information procedure for the draft Consumer Credit Agreements Bill and the royal decree implementing it.
portal.mineco.gob.es · public participation Ministry of EconomyDocument submitted to public consultation on January 8, 2026. It is the source of the cost caps and the new types of operator shown in Tables 4–6.
portal.mineco.gob.es · ECO_TES_20260108_AP_APL_Credito_Consumo.pdf Ministry of Economy“The Government increases consumers’ financial protection with caps on consumer credit interest to prevent over-indebtedness” (title translated from Spanish).
portal.mineco.gob.es · press Bank of SpainThe supervisor’s explanation of the scope of the project: microloans, revolving cards, quick loans, cost caps and new categories of entity.
clientebancario.bde.es · blog Bank of SpainA necessary reference for calculating the maximum APR, which the draft bill builds as a spread over the average rate published by the Bank of Spain.
clientebancario.bde.es · interest rates La MoncloaAgreement approving the draft Consumer Credit Agreements Bill, which transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2225.
lamoncloa.gob.es · Council of MinistersRegulatory content ages fast, and an outdated guide is worse than no guide at all. That is why we publish who maintains it, what method we follow and since when it has said what it says.
Tell us which financing products you offer and what documentation you work with today, and we will tell you which parts of your operations the Consumer Credit Directive changes and in what order to tackle them.
Consumer credit regulation in Europe has been built in two waves. The first, Directive 2008/48/EC, harmonized pre-contractual information, the APR and the right of withdrawal in a market that was still mostly face-to-face and bank-based. The second, Directive (EU) 2023/2225 (CCD2), responds to fifteen years of digitalization: financing built into the purchase process, automated decisions, small amounts and short terms, and operators that are not credit institutions.
The EU’s diagnosis was that a large share of real-world consumer credit was no longer covered by the Consumer Credit Directive then in force. An interest-free deferral in three installments, a €150 microloan or financing offered by a platform fell outside its scope because of the amount, the cost or the nature of the operator, even though they had exactly the same effect on the consumer: a debt. CCD2 corrects that mismatch by removing the lower threshold, raising the ceiling to €100,000 and expressly bringing in deferred payment, cost-free credit, leasing with an option to purchase and credit channeled through crowdfunding platforms.
The pre-contractual stage is where most of the adaptation effort lies. The standardized information form remains, and a prominent summary designed to be read on a small screen is added, with rules on when it is provided relative to signing. A standard warning on the cost of borrowing appears in advertising. And the creditworthiness assessment stops being a generic duty and becomes a procedure with rules on what data may be used, how a refusal is reasoned and what rights the applicant has when the decision has been made with an automated model.
In addition, the Consumer Credit Directive introduces an obligation with no precedent in the 2008 text: Member States must set caps on the borrowing rate, the annual percentage rate of charge or the total cost of credit. In Spain, this issue has historically been dealt with through case law, under the anti-usury legislation and by comparison with the average rate published by the Bank of Spain. Moving from after-the-fact judicial review to a prior statutory cap changes the design of products at the top end of the market, and it is the point most worth following as the Spanish law goes through the legislative process.
In our experience, the problem is rarely understanding the articles. It is that the document chain—advertising, pre-contractual information form, agreement, periodic communications and arrears notices—lives in different systems, managed by different teams, and changing one piece without reviewing the others creates contradictions between documents that a well-prepared complaint finds immediately. The order that works is to inventory the catalog against the new scope first, then rebuild the complete document chain, and leave sales team training for last, once the final texts are closed.
Key legislation, linked to the official text:
Legislation and links reviewed in .