BA, FCA and Novuna will be available at events over the coming months and are inviting retailers to come and meet the team.

BA & Novuna Team at CIN Live – 20th and 21st September

The Bicycle Association works closely with Novuna to bring more financing options to IBDs and bike brands, increasing the understanding and usage of consumer finance within the sector. Retailers who want to know more about consumer finance and how it can grow their sales can meet the team at the CIN Live show on 20th and 21st September.

FCA Open Door Event – 6th October

Another event retailers may wish to consider is the FCA’s third and final open-door event of 2026 (more are planned for 2027). This time it’s hosted in Edinburgh on Tuesday 6 October 2026,  1.30 pm to 3.00 pm

The event is billed as a short, informal session, designed to support smaller stores in need of clear, practical tips on what they need to do as a regulated firm – as well as the opportunity to ask questions and talk to FCA staff over a light lunch.

Anyone wishing to attend can register here: Register – FCA Open Door: Essentials for smaller firms

For those who can’t attend either event, here we set out some of the options for retailers who may not already have a finance provider.

Understanding credit options for cycle retailers

From premium road bikes to e-bikes and cargo bikes, today’s cycling customers can easily find themselves considering purchases worth several thousand pounds. For retailers, offering customers a choice of ways to pay can therefore play an important role in making those purchases more manageable.

Option 1: Offering Unregulated Finance

Some retailers may already offer forms of credit that fall outside FCA regulation in certain circumstances. While these can provide a relatively simple starting point, relying solely on unregulated options may restrict the range and duration of finance available to customers. Notably, although regulations allow unregulated lending up to 12 months, in practice this is often limited to 10 or 11 months to ensure loans stay within legal terms.

For cycle retailers looking to offer a broader range of regulated credit products with longer repayment terms, there are alternative routes worth considering. 

Option 2: Becoming an appointed representative

Another option to offer longer loan terms of, say, 24/36 or 48 months, is for a store to become an Appointed Representative (AR) of an FCA-authorised Principal firm.

An AR isn’t directly authorised by the FCA. Instead, it carries out agreed regulated activities under the responsibility of its Principal. The Principal determines the activities the retailer can undertake through a written AR agreement and is responsible for overseeing the AR’s compliance with relevant FCA requirements.

For IBDs, this can provide a route to offering a wider finance proposition without taking on all the responsibilities associated with direct FCA authorisation.

However, becoming an AR shouldn’t be viewed simply as a way of avoiding regulation. Retailers can expect due diligence before appointment and ongoing monitoring and oversight afterwards. The FCA has strengthened its expectations of Principals in recent years, including requirements around monitoring ARs, assessing potential consumer harm and ensuring they continue to meet relevant standards. 

Option 3: Becoming directly authorised

The alternative is for the retailer to apply to the FCA for its own consumer credit permissions.

Direct authorisation can give a business greater control over its regulated finance activities and may be appropriate for retailers with the scale, resources and longer-term strategy to manage their own regulatory responsibilities. Depending on the activities undertaken, the FCA distinguishes between Limited Permission and Full Permission credit brokers.

With that control comes greater responsibility. A directly authorised business is accountable for its own compliance with FCA rules and needs appropriate governance, systems and people in place to meet those obligations.

Why consider regulated finance?

The commercial opportunity for cycle retailers is straightforward. A customer considering, say, a £4,000 e-bike, may find a short repayment period difficult to accommodate within their monthly budget. Giving eligible customers access to appropriate longer-term finance options can potentially reduce the monthly cost, improve affordability and help customers consider the bike, accessories or equipment that best meet their needs.

That can support conversion and larger basket values, but the customer outcome must remain central. FCA-regulated firms are subject to the Consumer Duty, including the requirement to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

For cycle retailers, therefore, the question isn’t simply whether to offer finance. It’s about finding the regulatory route and finance proposition that best fits the business.

Unregulated credit may meet the needs of some retailers and customers. For businesses wanting to broaden their finance offering, becoming an Appointed Representative or obtaining the appropriate FCA authorisation can open up further possibilities, while bringing additional regulatory responsibilities that need to be properly understood and managed.

Want to find out more? Head to the website for more details on Novuna’s bicycle industry scheme.