Often not. Qualifying DPC — interest-free, 12 or fewer payments within 12 months — does not need FCA credit-broking authorisation on its own. The guided checker on this page flags that and points you to the free perimeter self-check or the written perimeter review instead of this project.
REGULATORY ADVICE
Limited-permission credit-broking authorisation
A defined project to establish the right permission, prepare the application and support responses to FCA questions within the agreed scope.
Documented route
Permission and route review, written up.
Application pack
Business plan and supporting evidence.
FCA query support
Coordinated within the agreed scope.
Fixed professional fee
No monthly retainer in this offer.
- Fixed professional fee
- No subscription
Your assessment
£8,220
Price includes an amount for VAT; a VAT invoice will follow once our VAT number is issued. FCA fee separate.
Start the guided projectNot sure it's right for you? Check in 60 seconds →Get clarity before you proceed
Get a clear, written answer to your credit-broking route.
We assess your business model, customer journey and distribution arrangements to confirm the right FCA permission route.
Clear outcome
A documented route, written up.
Activity mapping
Your sales journey mapped to permissions.
Practical next steps
What this means for you and actions to take.
Expertise you can rely on
Led by experienced regulatory specialists.
First, the regulatory route
Limited permission is not a label to choose from a menu.
The FCA expects the permission to match the actual business and finance arrangement. We test these points before recommending an application.
01
Your main business
Your principal activity is selling goods or supplying services, not introducing customers to credit.
02
The finance link
The introduction helps customers pay for your own goods or services, or another qualifying secondary-broking arrangement.
03
Where you sell
You are not a domestic-premises supplier selling the goods or services in customers' homes.
04
Other permissions
We check existing authorisations and any additional activities before calling the route limited permission.
If merchant broking relates only to qualifying Deferred Payment Credit, FCA credit-broking authorisation may not be needed. Other finance products, lending or additional activities can change the answer. We do not recommend an application until the products and customer journey are understood.
See the FCA's credit-broker guidance and secondary-broker criteria.
- Firms supported
- 100+
- Fixed professional fee
- £8,220
Across MEMA's FCA authorisation and permissions work.
Price includes an amount for VAT; a VAT invoice will follow once our VAT number is issued.
Your deliverables
A documented permission and application route.
You'll receive numbered, written deliverables — not a verbal opinion — structured so you can act on them.
- 01
Route memo
A documented permission and application route
- 02
Evidence list
Tailored to your products and customer journey
- 03
Business-plan outline
Regulatory business plan and supporting evidence
- 04
Application preparation
Preparation and submission support
- 05
Progress updates
An action record as the project moves
- 06
FCA query coordination
Within the agreed scope
See what your assessment will look like
Explore a sample of the key sections you'll receive.
Illustrative sample — not advice
A fictional example, for a fictional firm (“Example Retail Ltd”), to show the real shape and quality of the document you'll receive. It states no conclusion about any real firm.
Download sample (PDF)A simple, four-step process
From your answers to a written decision record.
1
Tell us
You describe the sales journey and finance products.
2
MEMA reviews
We document the permission and application route.
3
Build the application
Business plan, controls and the FCA application pack.
4
Submit and respond
Submission support and FCA query coordination.
What's included in the fixed fee?
- A documented permission and application route review
- Regulatory business plan and proportionate supporting evidence
- Application preparation and submission support
- Progress updates and an action record
- Review and coordination of FCA information requests within the agreed scope
What isn't included?
- The FCA application fee and any other regulator charges
- Specialist legal opinions or tax advice
- Full-permission or additional regulated activities outside the agreed scope
- Ongoing compliance services after the application project
Not sure whether any permission is needed? Start with the free self-check, or commission a written regulatory perimeter review.
Is this right for me?
Check in 60 seconds.
Answer a few quick questions about your business and we'll confirm the route before you pay.
Your answers are confidential and only used to recommend the right service.
Question 1 of 11
Current FCA position
Live route preview
Limited-permission credit-broking project
— answer the questions to confirm.
Limited-permission credit-broking project · £6,850 + VAT
Frequently Asked Questions
Select a question to view the answer.
No. This fixed-scope project is for secondary credit brokers introducing finance for their own goods or services. A broker whose main business is credit broking, or who introduces customers to finance unconnected to a sale, needs a different, wider assessment.
The FCA controls its own assessment and decision timetable, and MEMA cannot guarantee a decision date. This project's three delivery stages — confirm the route, build the application, submit and respond — are MEMA's own sequence, not a prediction of the FCA's statutory period.
No. The FCA application fee, and any other regulator charges, are separate and paid directly to the FCA. The fixed MEMA fee covers MEMA's own work only.
A director or accountable owner, an operational contact, provider and product details, your sales journey, relevant policies, and timely approval at each stage of the application.
The guided checker shows one clear result rather than a contradiction: if the fixed-scope package does not match your answers, it links to the £2,500 + VAT written perimeter review, which is built for exactly that situation — establishing the right route first.