Role and scope
An affiliate may publish educational material, place paid credit links, compare lenders or collect loan leads. These functions have different legal implications. Identify whether the publisher is merely carrying an advert or performing an introduction or application service. A commercial label does not determine regulatory status. The legal assessment should record the actual regulated product, entity and applicable jurisdiction. A business's commercial description does not decide which statute applies. Document the responsible reviewer, activity performed and any specific exemption relied on. Consumers should be able to identify the participant responsible for the explanation or service. Avoid conclusions based solely on a partner's standard contract or an internal sales category.
Permissions and rules
UK credit broking under Article 36A can include specified introductions, depending on the arrangement. Financial promotion duties are a separate question. Review the actual link destination, consumer information collected, remuneration and regulated agreement rather than assuming that referral fees make every content website a broker. Regulatory duties vary by the activities and channel used. Review the authorisation held by each entity and distinguish financial promotion approval from permission to broker credit. The consumer journey may change when a retailer begins collecting applications or recommending lenders. Preserve the operative rule and the source of facts used for classification. Reconsider the conclusion whenever the lender panel or business model materially changes.
Commission and transparency
Affiliates should describe paid relationships accurately, particularly where rankings or product prominence depend on commission. A claim that results are unbiased or cover the whole market requires a factual basis. For relevant credit brokers, CONC 3.7 addresses status transparency and CONC 4.5 deals with conditional remuneration disclosure. A disclosure should be timely and understandable, not merely technically present. The information given should match current commission agreements and the role the intermediary actually performs. Evaluate the potential effect of remuneration on consumer choices. Keep records of what was visible at the point of decision and what information was available on request. Material conflicts require a substantive assessment rather than a generic disclosure sentence.
Consumer information
A paid referral must not imply guaranteed approval when a lender has not decided the application. Rates, representative examples, eligibility conditions and direct lender links must be checked against current offers. Archived or automated campaigns can become inaccurate as products change, so updates should be documented. Evaluate the consumer-facing message in context, including earlier advertisements and subsequent application screens. A retailer or intermediary may describe an estimated payment before a credit assessment, but must distinguish illustration from approval. Check for inaccurate price, duration and fee claims. Where an offer has changed, update downstream content and maintain a reliable correction process.
Conflicts and operations
Where a publisher collects borrower details rather than merely redirecting a visitor, personal data obligations require a separately grounded assessment. Explain intended recipients and processing purposes. Record relevant marketing permissions, restrictions on onward transfer, and correction or suppression requests across the affiliate network. Operational controls should cover incentives, staff behaviour, marketing partners, lender relationships and customer complaints. Review whether a process promotes one finance option for commercial reasons while promising impartial advice. A well-written policy does not establish that the actual consumer interaction was fair. Test real transactions and correct systematic discrepancies, recording ownership and follow-up.
EU and jurisdictional differences
CCD2's revised credit intermediary definition distinguishes some mere introductions from further paid intermediary activity. National implementing rules generally apply from 20 November 2026. Existing national marketing and privacy rules can apply even where a person does not qualify as a credit intermediary under a particular definition. Current UK requirements and future Member State measures should be mapped separately. The Directive's date does not eliminate national implementation or transitional provisions. A cross-border intermediary may require different status wording, fee information and customer protections in each market. Assign owners to monitor legal changes and verify that technical changes work before public deployment.
Audit and quality control
Sample advertisements, affiliate emails, lender redirects, comparison rankings and lead forms. Verify contractual partners, disclosed incentives, consumer permissions and representations about credit availability. Investigate unexpected-contact complaints and remove affiliates repeatedly making inaccurate claims. Audit evidence should connect the exact promotion or sales material to the transaction, date, lender and commission structure. Include ordinary cases and complaints or rejected applications. Retain documents and meaningful customer communications rather than only policy templates. Where systemic defects are discovered, record affected journeys, corrective actions and testing that demonstrates the issue was resolved.
Frequently asked questions
Are credit intermediaries governed identically in all countries?
No. National rules, product scope and actual activities govern.
Does every commission create identical duties?
No. The legal conditions and the effect on consumer decisions matter.
Primary sources
FCA CONC 3.7 ↗FCA motor finance commission guidance ↗Directive (EU) 2023/2225 ↗Read the source in its current version. National implementing measures and product-specific applicability may require additional research.