Ahead of the new FCA consumer duty regulation coming into force on 31st July 2023, as an FCA Authorised Commercial Finance Intermediary we wanted to set out how what this means for consumers when it comes to raising commercial finance and how we at ABL are prepared to show we focus on achieving "Good Outcomes" for all of our customers.
Consumer Duty sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services, and requires firms to put their customer's needs first.
The consumer duty comes into force on the 31 July 2023 for existing products and services. And includes a new consumer principle that requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.
Cross-cutting rules providing greater clarity on the FCA's expectations under the new principle and helping firms interpret the four outcomes:
- Products and services
- Price and Value
- Consumer Understanding
- Consumer Support
However, as an FCA authorised business consumer duty could cover our interactions with Sole Traders, Limited Liability Partnerships or Inividuals looking to raise commercial finance.
ABL Business Ltd can be classed as both a Manufacturer and Distributor, as we can have a role in the design of the service / product offer and be covered by the Consumer Duty regulations as we have a material influence over customer outcomes.
As ABL Business is ISO9001 Accredited for our Finance Discovery and Delivery Process and as this is a quality management system we are already focussed as a business to provide "Good Outcomes" for our customers regardless of whether they are Retail or Business Customers. So, implementing Consumer Duty at ABL has been easy as we have aligned the standard with our ISO9001 Externally Acredited Process.
All our Team members including Appointed Representatives have completed Consumer Duty Training provided by the NACFB Membership package and we are ready for the 31st July 2023 when the new rules come into force.