FCA Financial Promotions Rules for Vehicle Leasing Brokers

The FCA intervened on 19,766 financial promotions in 2024, nearly double the year before. For vehicle leasing brokers, that number should prompt a serious look at everything currently live: your Instagram posts, your website deal pages, your Google display ads, and that hero banner with the monthly price in large gold text.

The challenge is that the compliance picture for leasing is more nuanced than most guides acknowledge. PCH, BCH and salary sacrifice schemes each sit differently within the regulatory framework. The rules that apply to a personal contract hire promotion aren't identical to those governing a business hire ad. And the rules governing a salary sacrifice campaign are different again. Yet many brokers either treat all three the same, or (more commonly) model their approach on what competitors are doing and assume that if a larger broker does it that way, it must be fine.

That assumption is how compliance problems start. We see it regularly when reviewing broker marketing: the approach was copied from a competitor, and no one checked whether the competitor was actually compliant.

This guide to leasing broker FCA compliance explains the financial promotions rules clearly, by product type, so your marketing team knows exactly what's required before anything goes live. It also covers the most common failure points seen in practice, and why getting this right matters more now than it ever has.

This guide reflects the regulatory position as we understand it at the time of writing. The legal landscape around motor finance commission is still evolving following the Supreme Court's 2025 judgment, and specific areas (including salary sacrifice structures and BCH exemption boundaries) haven't been fully tested through FCA enforcement. We've aimed to be practical and accurate, but this isn't legal advice. If you're unsure about a specific promotion or structure, get it reviewed by a compliance specialist.

What Counts as a Financial Promotion, and Does It Apply to Leasing?

The FCA defines a financial promotion as an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (section 21), communicating such a promotion without authorisation is a criminal offence.

For leasing brokers, this definition captures more than you might expect. A social media post showing a monthly price, a website deal page, a Google display ad, an email newsletter with available stock: all of these are financial promotions if they include an element that could be understood as an inducement to enter a hire or credit agreement. The FCA's rules are deliberately broad, and the test isn't whether the firm intended to promote a financial product, but whether a consumer reading it would reasonably view it as an invitation to transact.

The key question for leasing is: which rules apply to which product?

Personal Contract Hire (PCH) is a consumer hire agreement. CONC 3 applies in full, which means the overarching clear, fair and not misleading rule is in force. PCH is not a regulated credit agreement, so APR requirements don't apply. But promotions must still present the full cost clearly and not create a misleading impression of affordability. If your messaging blurs the line between hire and credit, the FCA can still intervene.

Business Contract Hire (BCH) can be exempt from the detailed requirements of CONC 3 under CONC 3.1.6R, but only if the promotion clearly indicates it's solely aimed at business users. In practice, most public-facing BCH promotions are unlikely to qualify for this exemption. Social media and other broadly accessible channels create significant risk that consumer-facing standards will apply, because the FCA looks at the audience actually reached, not just the intended audience. Brokers relying on this exemption should be cautious and take specific advice where there's any doubt.

Salary sacrifice is structured as a business lease, where the employer is the contracting party, not the employee. The hire agreement itself falls outside consumer credit regulation. Whether employee-facing promotional communications engage financial promotions rules or Consumer Duty depends on the specific structure: who the communication is from, whether it relates to a regulated activity, and who the audience is. In many cases, particularly where a broker or regulated firm is communicating savings claims directly to employees, the general financial promotions principles and Consumer Duty are likely to be relevant. Misleading savings claims can breach FCA principles regardless of the underlying agreement type.

The Golden Rule: Clear, Fair and Not Misleading

Everything in the FCA's financial promotions regime flows from a single principle. CONC 3 requires that every financial promotion must be clear, fair and not misleading (CONC 3.3.1R).

This applies regardless of product type, channel or audience. It applies to PCH, BCH and salary sacrifice. It applies to Instagram posts, Google display ads, website banners and email subject lines.

Each word carries weight. Clear means the average consumer in your target audience can understand the promotion without specialist knowledge. Fair means the promotion presents a balanced picture: benefits can't receive prominence that material conditions don't. Not misleading means no false impression can be created, either by what's said or by what's omitted.

The FCA has been explicit that omission is just as problematic as misstatement. A promotion that leads with a monthly price and mentions nothing about contract length, initial rental or mileage limitations may be technically accurate, but it creates a misleading impression of what the product costs. That's a breach.

What Leasing Ads Must Include, and What They Must Never Say

Credit Broker Disclosures

Every financial promotion from a leasing broker must make clear that the firm is acting as a credit broker, not a lender. This isn't optional, and it isn't sufficient to include it only in your website footer. The FCA is clear that this disclosure must appear in each individual promotion.

The firm should include its FCA registration number in promotions to clearly identify its regulated status. In practice, this is the most reliable way to avoid ambiguity about authorisation and is standard compliance practice across the sector. The FCA logo must not be used: doing so implies regulatory endorsement that doesn't exist and is explicitly prohibited under GEN 4 Annex 1.

Commission disclosure has become the highest-priority compliance area in the sector. Since January 2021, FCA rules have required brokers to disclose the nature and existence of commission in their financial promotions where commission arrangements exist and could influence the customer's decision. In leasing, this will almost always be the case. The BVRLA has highlighted commission disclosure as a consistent finding in its leasing broker audit programme, noting that commission statements should include the nature and basis of the payment and whether it affects the amount the customer pays.

The regulatory and legal position on commission disclosure continues to evolve. The Court of Appeal's October 2024 judgment (Johnson v FirstRand and related cases) found that disclosure needed to be prominent and genuinely understood by the customer. The Supreme Court subsequently heard the appeal in 2025, and its judgment has shifted the legal landscape. The detail of where the law settles will take time to clarify, and FCA review MS23/1.2 into motor finance commission models remains ongoing. What hasn't changed is the practical reality: vague commission language buried in small-print footers creates significant compliance risk. Disclosure should be legible, prominent and specific about the nature of the arrangement.

If a broker works with a limited number of funders, this must be stated. A broker can't imply it's independent if it operates from a restricted panel.

Pricing Rules

For PCH promotions, showing a monthly rental amount doesn't require a representative APR or representative example under CONC 3.5, because PCH is a hire agreement, not a credit agreement. But the clear, fair and not misleading obligation still applies in full. Showing only a monthly price with no indication of the initial rental, contract length or annual mileage creates a misleading picture of the true cost of the agreement. Best practice, and what the FCA would expect under Consumer Duty, is to show the full contract basis alongside any monthly figure.

Where pricing uses the word "from", the headline price must be genuinely representative of what the majority of customers would actually be offered. Advertising a deal at 5,000 miles per year when most customers require 10,000 miles isn't representative of what they'll pay. "From" pricing is one of the most common compliance failures we encounter in leasing broker advertising. This is especially relevant in Google Ads, where character limits can tempt you to show only the most attractive number.

Expressions That Are Banned Outright

CONC 3.5.12R restricts specific expressions that have historically been used to mislead consumers. These must not appear in any financial promotion unless they're strictly and literally true:

• "Interest free": only permitted where the total amount payable doesn't exceed the cash price
• "No deposit": only where zero advance payment is genuinely required
• "Gift" or "free": only where the benefit is genuinely unconditional
• Phrases implying guaranteed credit approval: "everyone accepted", "no credit checks", "guaranteed finance"

The last category is particularly relevant for leasing brokers. Even softer language, such as "we find finance for everyone" or "drive away today regardless of your credit history", implies credit is available without proper assessment. For credit products this breaches CONC 3.8.2R. For PCH it breaches the clear, fair and not misleading rule.

PCH, BCH and Salary Sacrifice: How the Rules Differ by Product

This is the nuance that most compliance guides skip, and it matters for how you structure your marketing.

For PCH, the most important practical difference is that you aren't required by CONC 3.5 to include a representative example or a representative APR when showing a monthly rental. APR is a credit concept: it doesn't apply to hire agreements. You still need to show the contract basis clearly (initial rental, monthly rental, term, mileage), but this is a best practice obligation under the clear/fair/not misleading rule, not a prescriptive credit law requirement.

For BCH, if your promotion is genuinely aimed at business users only and makes that clear, you may be able to rely on the CONC 3.1.6R exemption. The practical challenge is that many brokers promote BCH deals on public-facing social media channels where a significant proportion of the audience are individual consumers. In those cases, relying on the exemption carries significant risk. The FCA looks at the audience actually reached, not just the intended audience, and brokers should take specific advice before assuming the exemption applies.

For salary sacrifice, the lease is contracted by the employer and is a business hire agreement. Consumer credit rules don't govern the lease itself. Whether employee-facing communications engage financial promotions rules or Consumer Duty depends on the structure: who is communicating, whether the communication relates to a regulated activity, and who the audience is. In practice, where a broker or regulated firm is making savings claims directly to employees, these rules are likely to be relevant. Claims like "save up to 60% on your monthly costs" need to be accurate, evidence-based and not present a best-case scenario as if it were typical. The tax saving calculations depend heavily on individual circumstances (salary level, tax band, BIK rate) and presenting a maximum saving figure as if it applies to all employees creates compliance risk. For brokers building a salary sacrifice proposition, our EV fleet leasing strategy guide covers the commercial side in more detail.

Social Media and Standalone Compliance

The FCA published updated guidance on social media financial promotions in March 2024 (FG24/1), replacing guidance that had been in place since 2015. The update reflects how broker marketing has shifted towards Instagram, Facebook and short-form video, and how the previous guidance hadn't kept pace with those formats.

The most critical requirement is standalone compliance. Every individual post, story or piece of creative must comply with the FCA rules on its own. You can't rely on a caption link to carry the disclosures for an image, or vice versa. If a post is screenshotted, shared or viewed out of context, it must still be compliant. The FCA is explicit: each communication must comply individually.

This creates a structural problem for the way many leasing brokers currently produce social content. The typical format (large monthly price in the creative, legal text in the image footer, click through for full details) places required disclosures in the image but not in the caption. The caption, as a piece of communication in its own right, may not be standalone compliant.

Looking at current examples in the market: some larger leasing brokers are including vehicle spec, initial payment equivalent, mileage options, credit subject to status and FCA authorisation in the image disclaimer. Including a "price correct as of" date is also good practice for managing representativeness over time. That level of detail in the creative is the right direction. However, disclaimer text rendered in a very small font against a dark or busy background doesn't meet the standard. The FCA's own guidance is clear that disclosures that are technically present but practically invisible fail the test. The question is whether a typical consumer would actually read and understand that information, not whether it appears somewhere in the ad.

Display advertising generally allows more room for contextual disclosures than social media creative. Choosing the right channel for the right level of disclosure is itself part of compliant promotion design.

On influencer and affiliate content: any influencer or affiliate who promotes a regulated financial product must have their content approved by an FCA-authorised firm before publication. This applies to paid partnerships and referral arrangements regardless of how the relationship is structured. Failing to obtain approval is a criminal offence under section 21 FSMA 2000. If you're building a social media marketing strategy, approval processes need to be embedded from the start.

What a Non-Compliant Leasing Ad Looks Like (and How to Fix It)

In audits we've conducted across the sector, the majority of broker social content doesn't meet FCA standalone compliance requirements. Here's a realistic example showing what typically goes wrong and how to fix it.

Consumer Duty: What It Adds to Your Marketing Obligations

Since July 2023, all FCA-regulated firms including credit brokers have been subject to the Consumer Duty. For marketing, the most relevant obligation is the consumer understanding outcome, set out in PRIN 2A.5.

The practical effect is that it's no longer sufficient for a promotion to be technically compliant. It must actively support good outcomes for consumers, which means it must be designed so that a typical member of your target audience can actually understand it and make an informed decision based on it.

For leasing broker marketing, this means language should be accessible and jargon explained or avoided. Promotions mustn't exploit psychological pressure tactics: artificial urgency, countdown timers that misrepresent availability, or framing that implies consumers will lose out if they don't act immediately.

Consumer Duty also requires brokers to consider vulnerable customers. A promotion that makes a product appear significantly cheaper than it is for most customers raises Consumer Duty concerns that sit above the specific CONC rules.

Leasing Broker Compliance: The Burden on Small Independent Firms

In our experience working with independent brokers across the UK, one of the most common starting points when reviewing a firm's marketing is finding that their approach was modelled on what larger competitors were doing. If a well-known name does something a certain way, the assumption is that it must be compliant. It's an understandable shortcut (keeping pace with FCA guidance while running a lean business is genuinely difficult) but it isn't reliable. The FCA's own data shows that non-compliance is widespread, including among authorised firms. Nearly 20,000 promotions were amended or withdrawn in 2024. Some of those belonged to large, well-resourced businesses.

The BVRLA's leasing broker audit programme has repeatedly identified two areas of consistent weakness across the sector: compliance policies that aren't reviewed and updated regularly, and commission disclosure statements that don't meet the required standard. These aren't complex failures. They're the result of processes that were set up and then not kept current as rules changed.

The real burden for small independent brokers isn't understanding the rules in principle: most operators broadly understand what fair, clear and not misleading means. The burden is keeping up with the detail as guidance evolves, and having the infrastructure to apply it consistently to every piece of content that goes out, across every channel, every week. Having the right marketing strategy and technology stack makes this significantly easier to manage at scale.

The FCA doesn't pre-check financial promotions before they go live. It acts on complaints, monitoring and thematic reviews. The fact that a promotion has been live for months without intervention doesn't mean it's compliant; it may simply mean it hasn't yet been reviewed. A regular compliance audit should sit alongside the KPIs you're already tracking.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

The consequences of non-compliant financial promotions range from reputational to regulatory to criminal, depending on the nature of the breach.

For authorised firms, the FCA can require a promotion to be amended or withdrawn. It can issue a voluntary requirement restricting the firm's ability to communicate or approve promotions: 18 firms were subject to this in 2024. It can take enforcement action resulting in fines and public censure.

For promotions communicated without proper approval (including influencer content that hasn't been signed off by an authorised person) section 21 FSMA 2000 creates a criminal offence punishable by up to two years' imprisonment or an unlimited fine.

Beyond the regulatory consequences, the reputational risk for a small independent broker is significant. A complaint to the FCA about a non-compliant social post is a matter of public record if it results in action. In a sector where trust and referral are central to how businesses grow, that exposure isn't a theoretical risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a PCH ad need a representative example?

Not under CONC 3.5, which applies to credit agreements rather than hire agreements. However, the clear, fair and not misleading obligation still requires you to show the full contract basis (initial rental, monthly rental, contract length and annual mileage) alongside any headline price. Showing only a monthly figure creates an incomplete and potentially misleading picture.

Do I need to disclose commission on every post?

Where commission arrangements exist and could influence the customer's decision, the FCA expects disclosure to appear in financial promotions. For leasing brokers, this will apply in most cases. Deal posts on social media are financial promotions, so they should include a clear statement about commission where relevant. The legal position on what constitutes adequate disclosure continues to evolve following the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judgments on motor finance commission, but the practical direction is clear: disclosure should be prominent and genuinely comprehensible, not buried in small print.

Can I use an influencer to promote leasing deals?

Yes, but the influencer's content must be approved by an FCA-authorised firm before publication. The FCA's FG24/1 guidance makes clear this applies to paid partnerships and referral arrangements. Failing to obtain approval is a criminal offence under section 21 FSMA 2000.

What's the difference between an FCA financial promotion and general brand advertising?

The FCA's Perimeter Guidance Manual (PERG 8) distinguishes between financial promotions (which invite or induce consumers to engage in a financial activity) and image advertising, which references the firm's brand without constituting an invitation to transact. A post saying "we're the UK's friendliest leasing broker" is likely image advertising. A post showing a monthly price for a specific vehicle is a financial promotion.

Does Consumer Duty apply to leasing brokers?

Yes. Consumer Duty has applied to all FCA-regulated firms, including consumer hire brokers and credit brokers arranging leasing, since July 2023. The consumer understanding outcome requires that your marketing is designed to help consumers make informed decisions, not just that it avoids technically prohibited content.

The Practical Starting Point

The FCA's financial promotions rules aren't designed to make marketing impossible. Most of the requirements (showing who you are, being honest about what the product costs, not claiming things that aren't true) are things a reputable broker would want to do anyway.

The compliance risk for most brokers isn't deliberate deception. It's the accumulation of small gaps: a monthly price without a price basis, a caption that doesn't carry the disclosures shown in the image, a commission disclosure written in 2021 that hasn't been reviewed since the law on motor finance commission started shifting, an influencer post that wasn't signed off before it went live.

The place to start is a structured review of everything currently live, measured against the rules as they stand today, not as they stood when the content was first produced. If you do nothing else this week, start with these five:

Written by the Willowford team. Willowford works exclusively with independent UK vehicle leasing brokers on SEO, content and marketing compliance. Our team brings direct experience of senior marketing roles across the UK EV leasing and charging sectors.