On 19 August 2026, a new consumer credit advertising framework enters into force in Latvia, replacing the previous ban on credit advertising with clear requirements regarding advertising content and consumer information.
The new wording of the Consumer Rights Protection Law is based on the principle that advertising of credit services is permitted, provided that the legal requirements relating to advertising content, fairness, and consumer protection are observed. The objective of the regulation is to establish modern, clear, and consumer-oriented rules for credit advertising that correspond to the contemporary advertising environment and consumers’ information needs.
Key Changes
Going forward, the primary focus will no longer be on the medium or channel through which an advertisement is disseminated, but rather on the content of the advertisement and its impact on consumers.
Advertisements will no longer be allowed to use wording that creates unjustified expectations regarding the availability of credit, its cost, or the total amount repayable. An advertisement offering credit to consumers is prohibited from:
- encouraging irresponsible borrowing;
- providing information suggesting that credit is available to persons with a negative credit history;
- informing consumers about the possibility of obtaining consumer credit with a repayment term of up to 30 days;
- promoting the possibility of extending the credit repayment period.
Whether an advertisement encourages irresponsible borrowing will be assessed on the basis of its overall content, presentation, design, and the information provided about the credit service, including whether such information assists consumers in making an economically sound decision.
At the same time, the law specifies situations in which an advertisement is in all cases considered to encourage irresponsible borrowing. This includes advertisements that:
- encourage consumers to take out credit impulsively or without properly assessing its necessity;
- encourage borrowing regardless of the consumer’s financial situation;
- create or may create the impression that taking out credit involves no risk;
- claim that credit is the most suitable way of resolving financial difficulties;
- influence or may influence a consumer’s decision to enter into a credit agreement by offering goods, services, or other benefits unrelated to the use of the credit;
- create or may create the false impression that credit increases financial resources, replaces savings, or can improve a consumer’s standard of living;
- emphasise how easy or fast it is to obtain credit.
Mandatory Warning Requirement
From now on, all advertisements offering credit to consumers must include the following warning:
“Warning! Borrowing costs money.”
The warning must occupy at least 10% of the advertisement’s total area or duration.
In visual and audiovisual advertisements, the warning must be displayed at the bottom of the advertisement in black lettering on a white background. The font size must be chosen so that the warning occupies the largest technically possible portion of the space allocated for the text.
Requirements for Advertisements Containing Numerical Information About Credit Costs
Where an advertisement offers credit to consumers and includes an interest rate or any other numerical information concerning the cost of credit, consumers must simultaneously be provided with the most important information about the credit.
Under the new regulation, this requirement is now expressly laid down in the Consumer Rights Protection Law. The information must be presented in a clear and comprehensible manner by means of a representative example, unless specific types of credit agreements are subject to different rules.
It is important to note that the annual percentage rate of charge (APR) must be particularly prominent in visual advertising and displayed at least as clearly and visibly as any interest rate or other equivalent numerical information relating to the cost of the credit. In audiovisual advertisements, the APR must be displayed throughout the entire duration of the advertisement.
In such cases, consumers must receive concise information on the key credit cost and repayment conditions to ensure that the stated interest rate or other numerical information is not presented out of context.
By means of a representative example, such advertisements must include:
- the borrowing rate and any charges included in the total cost of the credit;
- the total amount of credit;
- the annual percentage rate of charge (APR), highlighted in visual advertisements and displayed throughout audiovisual advertisements;
- the duration of the credit agreement, where applicable;
- the price of the goods or services and the amount of any down payment, where the credit is granted in the form of deferred payment;
- the total amount payable by the consumer and, where possible, the amount of instalment payments;
- any mandatory ancillary service required to obtain the credit or to obtain the advertised terms and conditions, where the cost of that service cannot be determined in advance.
It should be noted that the new regulation provides for differentiated information requirements for certain types of credit agreements. These include, for example, overdraft facilities repayable on demand or within three months, credit agreements for the acquisition of immovable property or secured by a mortgage over immovable property, short-term agreements involving insignificant additional costs, and pawnshop-type loans in which the consumer’s liability is limited to the pledged item.
By contrast, advertisements relating to credit agreements under which the credit provider has tacitly accepted an account overdraft are subject only to the requirements prohibiting the encouragement of irresponsible borrowing and the other prohibitions established by law.