As of 26 May 2017, online payday lenders must have the details of their payday loans published on an FCA-authorised payday loan price comparison website (“PCW”). Payday lenders must also prominently display on their own website a hyperlink to at least one PCW on which their payday loans appear.
These requirements are set down in the Payday Lending Market Investigation Order 2015. The Order was made under the market investigations provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (“CMA”) payday lending market investigation. The Investigation found that a lack of price competition between payday lenders resulted in high costs for consumers and these new requirements are part of the CMA’s attempt to address this consumer detriment.
Failure to comply with the Order can result in enforcement action from the CMA or civil actions from impacted consumers.
The Order can be read in full here: Payday Lending Market Investigation Order 2015
An explanatory note can be read here: Payday Lending Market Investigation Order Explanatory Note