As of May 1, 2022, companies that provide, arrange, offer or facilitate high-cost credit products to consumers that charge above 32% interest (APR/AIR), must be licensed and regulated by Consumer Protection BC. The licensing package is now available for any businesses that fit the definition of a high-cost credit grantor so they can start the process to get licensed by May 1, 2022.
This first licence will be six months long and expire on October 31, 2022. Automated emails leading up to November 1, 2022, to remind you of the deadline and how to renew online.
To read through all the licensing steps, understand the licensing requirements, and access all the required forms, please visit the Get and Keep Your Licence page of our website for this sector. All the licensing forms are fillable PDFs and can be emailed, faxed, or mailed back to our office along with the other required documents.
To understand more about the rules that apply to licensed high-cost credit grantors, and to learn about the fees (including contributions to the Consumer Financial Education Fund), review the Know your obligations and the Know your fees pages of our website.
The new rules that apply to high-cost credit grantors and/or high-cost credit products can be found in the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act, 2019 and the High-cost Credit Products Regulation. You can read about those in Order In Council 634/2021 and Order In Council 635/2021.
If you have questions about the licensing process, please send our Licensing and Information team an email to operations@consumerprotectionbc.ca or call 1.888.564.9963, and then press 2.
If you have questions about the new rules or our corporate policies, please reach out to Mike Collyer, our Manager of Industry Relations, at Mike.Collyer@consumerprotectionbc.ca or 778.747.0308.
Are you a licensed payday lender?
As part of the law changes mentioned above, other amendments and additions have been made that impact licensed payday lenders, including the requirement to contribute to the Consumer Financial Education Fund and an update to the statement in payday loan agreements. Please review the Know your obligations page on our website for licensed payday lenders.
About Consumer Protection BC:
Consumer Protection BC is the regulator of a variety of sectors and specific consumer transactions in the province. Our mandate is to license and inspect our regulated businesses, respond to consumer inquiries, investigate alleged violations of consumer protection laws, and to classify all general release motion pictures.
For more information about our organization, to read our recent enforcement actions, and to learn about our inspection and complaint-handling processes, please visit our corporate website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or read our blog for valuable consumer tips and resources.