RegRally Insights: Consumer Protection Regulation, October 2026

Who pays for the checkout, who actually provides a financial service, and can a price clause survive a challenge? Supervisors and courts answered all three last month. Here is what payment and e-money institutions, consumer lenders, BNPL providers, investment platforms and merchants serving consumers in the Baltics need to know.

Lithuania: consumers should not pay for the payment method chosen by the merchant

September 3, 2026 | Lietuvos bankas
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Lietuvos bankas issued a public position that consumers should not have to pay for the payment method chosen by the merchant. The Bank has observed a spreading practice of consumers being charged a fee by a payment service provider that the merchant has chosen. This occurs in online shopping, parking apps, QR-code payments in cafés and payments for public services.

The Bank sets out two rules. For card payments, the merchant must bear its acquiring costs under the applicable legislation and may not pass them on to the consumer as a surcharge. For payment initiation services, a fee to the consumer is not prohibited, but the consumer must be clearly informed in advance and must have a genuine option to pay by another method at no additional cost. Lietuvos bankas considers that acceptance costs should be treated as the merchant’s own operating costs and reflected in prices rather than charged to the payer.

Before confirming a payment, consumers are urged to check whether an additional fee linked to the chosen payment method has been added to the price. The Bank stated that it views unfavorably business models under which the payer bears the cost of the payee’s chosen collection method.

What we recommend

• If you are a merchant, review every fee shown to the payer at checkout and do not add a surcharge for card payments. If a payment initiation fee applies, tell the customer before they confirm the payment and offer a free alternative payment method.
• If you provide payment initiation services and charge the payer, make sure the full fee is shown before the payment is initiated. A payer who was not told about the fee in advance may not be obliged to pay it.

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Latvia: non-bank consumer lenders move under Latvijas Banka supervision

September 17, 2026 | Latvijas Banka / Saeima
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In final reading, the Saeima adopted a package of 13 laws transferring the licensing and supervision of non-bank consumer lenders from the Consumer Rights Protection Centre to Latvijas Banka. This integrates these lenders into unified financial sector supervision. Around 38 consumer credit providers, 36 credit intermediaries and their representatives will come under Latvijas Banka supervision.

The transfer takes effect on January 1, 2027. Providers of deferred payment services (buy-now-pay-later) transfer earlier, on November 20, 2026. Latvijas Banka has until January 1, 2028 to adopt the necessary regulations in cooperation with the industry, allowing a gradual transition. The stated aims are to reduce fragmentation and supervisory cost, strengthen consumer protection and create fairer competition between bank and non-bank lenders.

What we recommend

• If you are a non-bank lender, BNPL provider or credit intermediary active in Latvia, prepare for the licensing, reporting and conduct requirements set by Latvijas Banka, including fit-and-proper, governance and creditworthiness-assessment standards aligned with those applied to credit institutions.
• If you offer buy-now-pay-later or consumer credit lines in Latvia, including as a payment or e-money institution, check whether your product falls under the new Latvijas Banka supervision. BNPL providers move under its supervision on November 20, 2026, and other non-bank consumer lenders on January 1, 2027. Prepare your licensing, governance and creditworthiness-assessment processes ahead of these dates.
• If your business falls within the transferred scope, track the Latvijas Banka regulations to be adopted during the transition period, since these will set the detailed conduct and reporting obligations.

Our team advises consumer credit providers on licensing and compliance in Lithuania and Latvia.

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Latvia: updated warning list of unlicensed financial service providers

September 21, 2026 | Latvijas Banka
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Latvijas Banka updated its public warning list of companies that provide financial services in Latvia without the required license or authorization. The list, first published on March 12, 2026 and updated on September 21, 2026, names entities that raise funds from the public through loan agreements offering interest, or that offer investment services or ancillary services, including the trading of credit claims on online platforms, without a credit institution or investment firm license.

The list currently names twenty entities, including Crowdestor OÜ, Hive5 marketplace d.o.o., Income Company OÜ, IUVO Group OÜ, Kviku Holding Ltd, LOANCH, Lonvest Platform d.o.o., Maclear AG, Robocash d.o.o., Swaper Platform OÜ and Ventus Energy Group OÜ. Latvijas Banka reminds the public that investments in unlicensed companies are not protected under the Investor Protection Law and may be lost irretrievably. It encourages consumers to check the register of financial market participants before dealing with a provider.

What we recommend

• If you are a payment institution, e-money institution or credit institution, screen your merchant and corporate client portfolios against the updated list and review the risk rating and, where appropriate, whether to continue relationships with named entities.
• If you run a platform offering loan-claim trading or public fundraising in Latvia, assess whether your activity requires a credit institution, investment firm or crowdfunding license and regularize your status before supervisory action follows.

Read more about how we support P2P lending platforms.

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EU: Court of Justice rules on unfair price-adjustment clauses (C-900/24)

September 24, 2026 | Court of Justice of the EU
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In Case C-900/24 SVB, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts precludes a national rule or practice under which a contract containing an unfair term is maintained in force where price increases resulting from that term were not challenged by the customer within three years. The case concerned a district-heating supply contract with a price-adjustment clause that German courts had found unfair.

The Court also held that the Directive precludes allowing the supplier to unilaterally replace the void clause with a new price-adjustment mechanism, because national courts must disapply unfair terms without revising their content. A limitation rule that preserves the effects of an unfair term for past periods, and a mechanism that lets the trader cure the term unilaterally, both deprive the consumer of the protection the Directive requires.

What we recommend

• If you use price-adjustment or fee-variation clauses in consumer contracts (account fees, card fees, interest margins), review the clauses for transparency and for a valid reason and method of adjustment. The provider cannot unilaterally replace a clause found unfair.
• If you handle complaints or remediation, do not rely on short internal limitation periods to refuse refunds of amounts charged under a clause later found unfair.

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UK: FCA review of support for vulnerable customers in payments firms

September 17, 2026 | FCA (UK)
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The FCA published good and poor practice from its review of how payments firms support consumers in vulnerable circumstances under the Consumer Duty. Good practice included identifying vulnerability throughout the customer journey, consistent recording in systems, tailored support and outcome-based management information. Poor practice included policies that could not be shown to work in practice, implausibly low identification rates and weak oversight of intermediaries.

The FCA does not introduce new requirements but expects firms to demonstrate that their approach is proportionate and effective for their customer base, with testing, assurance and outcome monitoring.

What we recommend

• If you serve consumers through your own staff or through agents, distributors or outsourced customer support, compare your recorded vulnerability rates with the expected profile of your customers, investigate material gaps, and make sure everyone acting on your behalf applies the same identification and support standards.
• If you report to a board, establish outcome metrics for vulnerable customers, such as time to restore access to funds, complaint outcomes and use of support channels, and report them to the board.

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UK: CFD firms close after FCA crackdown on misuse of UK authorization

September 25, 2026 | FCA (UK)
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The FCA announced that twenty-one contracts-for-difference (CFD) firms have closed since 2025 and three more are canceling their permissions following a crackdown on the misuse of UK authorization. The firms maintained minimal genuine UK business while using their authorized status to lend credibility to affiliated overseas entities, creating the impression that consumers were protected by UK regulation when they were not.

The FCA used escalating interventions, including restrictions on trading, mandatory independent business reviews and two enforcement investigations for the most serious cases. The FCA urged consumers to verify who they are dealing with through its Firm Checker and to distinguish UK-authorized firms from similarly named overseas entities.

What we recommend

• If your group operates an EU-authorized entity alongside third-country affiliates, make sure that marketing, websites and onboarding flows make clear which entity contracts with the client and which regulatory protections apply. The same conduct concern arises under MiFID II and MiCA.
• If you have referral or white-label arrangements with overseas affiliates, review them for any use of the regulated entity’s name or license number in the affiliate’s promotions.

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Our view

Consumer credit is where the biggest change is coming. In Latvia, BNPL providers move under Latvijas Banka supervision on November 20, 2026, the same date the new consumer credit rules start to apply in Lithuania, and other non-bank consumer lenders follow on January 1, 2027. Lenders and BNPL providers active in both markets will be adjusting to new rules and, in Latvia, a new supervisor at the same time. Licensing, creditworthiness assessment and governance are best reviewed now, not after the deadlines.

The other updates also show that supervisors and courts look beyond paperwork to what the consumer actually experiences: the final amount paid at checkout, the entity that actually provides a service and whether a price clause withstands a challenge.

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How ECOVIS ProventusLaw can help

• Licensing and regulatory authorizations for consumer credit providers, payment institutions and P2P lending platforms
• Assessing licensing needs and preparing for regulatory and supervisory changes in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for consumer credit, BNPL and investment platform activities
• Consumer credit regulatory compliance
• Creditworthiness assessment and responsible lending
• Consumer credit agreements and documentation
• Regulatory reporting and supervisory requirements
• Reviewing checkout flows, fee disclosures and pricing for payment and payment initiation services
• Consumer protection and unfair commercial practices
• Client risk assessment procedures for payment, e-money and credit institutions
• Support during supervisory inspections and remediation of findings
• Legal advice on financial services regulation in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
• Drafting and updating complaint-handling and remediation procedures

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Why ECOVIS ProventusLaw

ECOVIS ProventusLaw specializes in FinTech, RegTech and DefTech, together with corporate and M&A work, so a lender, payment business or platform can get regulatory, corporate and transaction advice from the same team as it grows.

Consumer protection rules span several areas of law: a single checkout involves payment law, consumer credit rules and contract law at the same time. Our lawyers and compliance specialists work together, so their advice considers how a fee, a contract term or a license will work in your product and procedures. Our lawyers in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia work as one team. Clients usually deal directly with a partner as a single point of contact, which helps when the same product is offered in more than one Baltic market. Our financial services work is recognized by IFLR1000 (Financial services regulatory; Banking and finance), The Legal 500 (Fintech; Banking, finance and capital markets) and Chambers and Partners in its FinTech and Europe guides.

ECOVIS ProventusLaw is a top-tier business law firm operating across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and is part of the ECOVIS International network present in more than 90 countries worldwide.