New Credit Impact Report calls for a fresh approach to consumer finance, highlighting its role in employment, mobility and financial inclusion - and the need to better support people who are declined credit.
The national debate about consumer credit focuses heavily on debt and financial harm, but pays too little attention to the opportunities that people can lose when they cannot access responsible finance, according to a new report from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).
The FLA's first Credit Impact Report argues that access to affordable, appropriately provided credit is an important part of economic participation - enabling people to get to work, invest in their homes, meet essential needs and manage significant purchases over time.
In 2025, FLA members provided £122 billion of new consumer credit, including £55 billion supporting the purchase of new and used cars. Around six million people use motor finance, demonstrating the scale of the relationship between credit and everyday mobility.
The report argues that, while consumer protection must remain fundamental, the economic and social contribution of responsible credit needs greater recognition in decisions about the future of the market.
Shanika Amarasekara MBE, Chief Executive of the FLA, said:
“Credit is too often discussed only in terms of what can go wrong. Those risks matter enormously, and consumers must be protected. But we also need to talk about what happens when people cannot access the finance they need.
“A reliable car can make the difference between being able to take a job and having to turn it down. Replacing an essential appliance or making a home more energy-efficient can make a real difference to household finances and quality of life.
“If we want an economy in which more people can participate and prosper, we need a more balanced conversation about responsible credit - one that recognises both the risks of borrowing and the consequences of exclusion.”
A once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink credit
The report identifies a significant opportunity to reshape consumer credit as reform of the Consumer Credit Act, developments in artificial intelligence and data, and changing consumer expectations come together.
It highlights three priorities for the next decade:
- Recognising the value of responsible credit: Building a more balanced understanding of how appropriate borrowing can support economic participation, while maintaining strong consumer protections.
- Enabling responsible innovation: Supporting technology and product development that improve flexibility, understanding and customer outcomes within a clear regulatory framework.
- Improving outcomes for people declined credit: Helping consumers understand why they have been declined and providing clearer information, guidance and appropriate alternative pathways.
The report also identifies personalisation, flexibility, control and education as four expectations likely to shape the future of consumer finance.
The FLA is calling for a shared vision of consumer credit in 2035: a market that reflects people's changing circumstances, makes responsible use of technology and measures success not simply by lending volumes, but by the outcomes it delivers.
Amarasekara added:
“The question for the next decade is not simply how we make credit safer, but how we make responsible credit work better for people.
“We have an opportunity to build a market that is more responsive, more inclusive and better equipped to support the way people actually live. That should be central to the debate about the future of consumer credit.”
