Lenders and peer-to-peer loan brokers

Companies granting consumer credit are supervised by the Financial Supervisory Authority from 1 July 2023. 

Frequently asked questions

If you get into a dispute with a lender or a peer-to-peer loan broker, you should first contact the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority’s consumer advisors. Disputes with lenders and peer-to-peer loan brokers can relate to, for example, the amount of interest or charges payable on a particular loan or claims for damages. Regional State Administrative Agencies have no jurisdiction in disputes between individual consumers and businesses.

The Consumer Advisory Service is a national helpline that provides information on consumer rights and mediation in disputes between consumers and businesses. The Consumer Advisory Service’s website also includes a tool called the Complaint Assistant that you can use to file a complaint with a specific business.

You can also take your grievance to the Consumer Disputes Board. Please note, however, that the Consumer Disputes Board can refuse to investigate your complaint if you have not first been in contact with the Consumer Advisory Service. The Consumer Disputes Board’s decisions are advisory and non-binding. Only courts can issue binding decisions.

We are the competent enforcement authority in respect of registered consumer credit providers and peer-to-peer loan brokers. We can also check whether a lender or a broker should be registered based on information received from the public. Our primary responsibility, however, is to enforce the compliance of lenders and brokers already included in our register. 

Some lenders, such as credit institutions, report to the Financial Supervisory Authority.

We can provide administrative guidance or impose administrative penalties on lenders and peer-to-peer loan brokers.

A decision issued to a lender as a result of a complaint has no direct or binding impact on the complainant’s case. We cannot order a lender to take certain action in individual cases. Disputes between complainants (consumers) and lenders can be settled in court.

Interest rates on consumer credit are regulated by the Consumer Protection Act. 
Consumer credit agreements signed on or after 1 September 2019 are subject to an interest cap of 20 per cent.

Agreements predating 1 September 2019 are, as a rule, governed by an earlier version of the Consumer Protection Act as follows: 

  • For loans or credit limits of less than EUR 2,000, the annual percentage rate of charge must not exceed the reference interest rate plus 50 percentage points. The reference interest rate is based on the Finnish Interest Act.
  • The interest rate cap only applies to credit agreements that permit the consumer to make withdrawals.  

Consumers can challenge unreasonable terms and conditions in credit agreements and ask the lender to revise them or not apply them. Unreasonable terms and conditions that can be challenged include, for example, the interest rate.

Links to legal texts

Consumer Protection Act (38/1978) (in Finnish)

Topics that might interest you