If you offer your customers payment in several instalments, deferred payment or a small “free” loan, a deadline is approaching. From 20 November 2026, these practices will fall within the scope of regulated consumer credit, with a direct impact on e-commerce businesses and large companies selling online. Here is what you should check before that date.
What is changing in practice?
France is transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2225, the new European directive on consumer credit agreements, which modernizes the European consumer credit framework, through ordonnance n° 2025-880 of 3 September 2025. As a result, the reform significantly broadens the definition and scope of consumer credit: it now notably covers credits without fees or interest (“free credits”), mini-loans of less than €200, and credits of less than three months carrying negligible fees, in particular instalment or deferred payments (BNPL). In addition, the regime applicable to lease agreements with an option to purchase (LOA) is strengthened. The consumer credit ceiling is also raised to €100,000 (previously €75,000).
The text then strengthens the pre-contractual information obligations. Before signing, the lender must provide the borrower with a standardized pre-contractual information sheet setting out the main characteristics of the transaction. These new requirements also mean that the general terms and conditions of sale (CGV) must be updated and must now include the mandatory information provided for by the implementing decrees, in particular the 14-day withdrawal period and the warning concerning the risk of over-indebtedness. A mandatory creditworthiness assessment, including in particular consultation of the FICP (French national register of credit repayment incidents involving individuals) by the lender, together with a fourteen-day withdrawal period, completes this protective framework. These obligations fall on the party that actually grants the deferred payment: your company if it finances the instalment arrangement itself, or your provider if you use a third party. This is a point to check contract by contract.
Particular points of vigilance for large online businesses
To remain outside the consumer credit regime, a deferred payment must be settled in full within 50 days, without interest and without a third-party lender. For large businesses selling online (those meeting at least two of the following three thresholds: a balance sheet of €25 million, turnover of €50 million or 250 employees), this safe harbor is reduced to 14 days. The same payment due in 45 days could therefore remain outside the regime for a smaller seller, but fall within consumer credit for a large online business.
Another point to anticipate: ordonnance n° 2025-1154 of 2 December 2025 now prohibits the large platforms concerned from using factoring, that is, assigning these receivables to a third party in exchange for immediate financing. Their financing arrangements will have to be reviewed before the reform enters into force.
Checklist: what to do before 20 November 2026
- Map your payment products in France and identify whether you or your provider bears the status of lender.
- Record the correct reference date: the new law applies to offers issued from 20 November 2026, not to the date of signature (décret n° 2026-643 of 21 July 2026).
- Update your contractual and pre-contractual documents, the content of which is set by décret n° 2026-105 of 19 February 2026.
- Put in place a documented process for checking creditworthiness and retain the documentation for the entire duration of the credit (décret n° 2026-719 of 1 August 2026). This décret also requires a borrower in difficulty, as soon as a payment incident is reported to the FICP, to be directed to a point conseil budget: a public, free service independent of lenders, responsible for helping individuals manage their budgets and repay their debts.
- Train your teams on the new advertising rules: any communication about credit must be clear, fair and not misleading, and must include the mandatory wording “Warning! Credit costs money and must be repaid.” (in French: « Attention ! Un crédit coûte de l’argent et doit être remboursé. »)
- If you are a large business selling online, review your general terms and conditions of sale and the question of factoring.
Key takeaway: any business that facilitates instalment payments for its French customers is concerned, directly if it finances the transaction itself, indirectly if it uses a third party. In the event of non-compliance, the business may face administrative fines, loss of the right to interest and an extension of the withdrawal period granted to the customer. The deadline is now close …
Sources: ordonnance n° 2025-880 du 3 septembre 2025 (art. 16, créant l’article L. 312-15-4 du code de la consommation ; art. 19, modifiant l’article L. 312-16) ; ordonnance n° 2025-1154 du 2 décembre 2025 ; décret n° 2026-105 du 19 février 2026 ; décret n° 2026-719 du 1er août 2026 ; décret n° 2026-643 du 21 juillet 2026