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<p>The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the payday market, transferring
regulatory responsibility for consumer credit regulation from the Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 April 2014. The FCA has a statutory
objective to protect consumers.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that consumers are protected
from unfair costs. The Government has therefore legislated to require the FCA to introduce
a cap on the cost of payday loans, and the FCA is currently consulting on its cap
proposals.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also strongly welcomes the FCA’s new rules
for regulating payday lending, including action on rollovers and continuous payment
authorities (CPAs). Payday lenders are also required to adhere to the FCA’s high level
principles of business, including that of ‘treating customers fairly’.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>The FCA has also introduced affordability rules to strengthen consumer protection,
based on the principle that money should only be lent to a consumer if they can afford
it.</p>
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