Will buying on invoice fall under consumer credit law from 20 November?

As a rule, no, as long as the shop meets the conditions of the exemption. The shop grants the payment term itself and without a surcharge, the term ends no later than 50 days after delivery, and only limited costs can arise in case of late payment (Section 506(1) BGB new version). For online sellers that are not small or medium-sized enterprises, a period of at most 14 days applies, and no third party may acquire the receivable. At the same time, the ministry stresses that factoring to group companies or platform-owned payment service providers does not pull buying on invoice into the new rules. If you are close to one of the limits, have the design reviewed legally.

What changes for "pay later" via a payment provider?

If a third party grants the customer the payment pause, it is a financial accommodation and thus consumer credit from the effective date, even if it is free of charge. The duties of pre-contractual information, creditworthiness assessment and information on withdrawal lie with the provider as the lender. The shop keeps responsibility for advertising the payment method, its labelling in the checkout and a selection without presets. Ask your provider in writing which information it displays in the checkout itself, which texts you have to adapt and from when its extension implements the new requirements.

May the checkout preselect a payment method?

For payment methods that trigger a credit, nothing should be preselected. For concluding a general consumer loan, a declaration via preset options, such as pre-ticked boxes, is not sufficient, and this also applies to add-on services to the credit (Section 492(1a) BGB new version). Via Section 506 BGB the rule equally covers instalments and payment pauses. For additional payments outside credit law, a preset agreement already does not become part of the contract today (Section 312a(3) BGB). The simplest solution is a checkout in which the customer actively chooses every payment method.

Does our shop have to register with the financial supervisor?

Only if the shop itself acts as a lender, that is if it grants its own instalment plans or payment deferrals outside the invoice exemption. Small and medium-sized enterprises that exclusively grant interest-free payment deferrals for their own goods in an ancillary capacity and with limited default costs are exempt (Section 4 AbsFinAG). If the shop works with an institution that takes over the receivables under a prior agreement, the institution reports the retailer. Existing lenders have a transition period of twelve months; after that, operating without registration risks a fine of up to EUR 500,000 (Section 8 AbsFinAG).

What notice does advertising for instalment payments need?

Advertising for credit products under Section 491(2) or Section 506(1) BGB needs a clear and prominent warning about the costs of borrowing, such as "Attention! Borrowing money costs money" or an equivalent wording (Annex No. 23e UWG new version). Advertising that suggests a credit improves one's financial situation or replaces savings is also unlawful. Anyone advertising with interest rates or other figures relating to costs additionally states the net loan amount, borrowing rate, annual percentage rate of charge and an example (Section 17 PAngV new version).

Does this also apply to B2B shops?

Consumer credit law protects consumers. A shop that sells exclusively to businesses is, as a rule, not covered by these changes. Business founders are an exception: if natural persons obtain a payment deferral or other financial accommodation to take up a commercial or self-employed activity, the rules also apply to them up to a monetary threshold (Section 513 BGB). In mixed shops, the individual order matters: if a private individual buys, the new rules apply; if a business buys, as a rule they do not. It then makes sense to control credit-based payment methods via customer groups and to set up separate payment terms for business customers. If you are unsure how this is implemented in your shop, write to us via the [contact page](/en/contact/).

New instalment rules for shops: what applies to invoices

On 20 November 2026 (BMJV) a new chapter in payment law begins for online shops, and it lands in the middle of the Christmas season. From that day, the rules with which Germany transposes the European Consumer Credit Directive (EU) 2023/2225 apply. For the first time they also cover forms of credit that were previously left out: interest-free instalment plans, short payment pauses and small amounts. For retailers this raises a practical question that is answered in the checkout: which of the payment methods on offer will count as consumer credit, which remains exempt, and what has to change in texts, advertising claims and selection fields? The short answer for most small and medium-sized shops is that the classic purchase on invoice remains exempt within limits, while instalments and "pay later" via third parties fall under credit law. This article classifies the payment methods based on the statutory text in the Federal Law Gazette, sets out the conditions on which the exemption for invoice purchases depends, and describes what needs to be done in the checkout and in instalment advertising before the effective date. It does not replace legal advice in an individual case, but it helps you ask payment providers and legal advisers the right questions.

Key points at a glance

From 20 November 2026, consumer credit law also covers free-of-charge, short-term and small loans under EUR 200, including payment deferrals (BMJV). Contracts that existed before that date remain under the previous law.
A shop's own invoice purchase remains exempt if the shop itself grants a free payment term of no more than 50 days after delivery and only limited costs arise in case of late payment (Section 506(1) BGB new version).
Online sellers that are not small or medium-sized enterprises only get the exemption with a payment term of at most 14 days and only if no third party acquires the receivable (Section 506(1) BGB new version).
Instalments and payment pauses granted by a third party count as consumer credit from the effective date, even without interest. The credit duties lie with the lender, while the shop is responsible for advertising and checkout.
Instalment advertising needs a clear warning such as "Attention! Borrowing money costs money" (Annex No. 23e UWG new version); advertising with interest rates or cost figures also needs the mandatory details and an example (Section 17 PAngV new version).
Consent to instalments, payment pauses or add-on services must not be given via pre-ticked boxes (Section 492(1a) BGB new version). Credit-based payment methods should appear without preselection in the checkout by the effective date.

What changes on 20 November

The Act transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2225 on credit agreements for consumers was promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette of 18 May 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I No. 139). Among other things, it amends the German Civil Code, its Introductory Act, the Price Indication Ordinance and the Act against Unfair Competition, and with the Sales Financing Supervision Act it creates a separate supervisory law for retailers that grant credit themselves. Most of it enters into force on 20 November 2026 (Article 16, BGBl. 2026 I No. 139). The directive should actually have been transposed into German law by 20 November 2025 (BMJV); the new provisions have to be applied from 20 November 2026. For the contract law rules there is no further grace period after that, and the effective date falls a good week before the end of the month, when many retailers plan their biggest promotions.

For retail, the core lies in the scope. Until now, the consumer credit protection rules only applied to loans and financial accommodations that cost something, and even then with exemptions for small and short credits: anyone offering an interest-free instalment plan without further costs or a free payment pause was outside consumer credit law. That changes. In future, the rules are to apply also to free and short-term loans, to loans under EUR 200 and to the corresponding payment deferrals (BMJV). The statutory text says so in two places. The new Section 491 BGB removes the word "entgeltliche" (for consideration) from the definition of a general consumer loan, and the new Section 506 BGB covers every payment deferral and every other financial accommodation that a trader grants to a consumer, whether or not it costs anything (Section 506(1) BGB new version).

As the scope grows, so do the duties: pre-contractual information, creditworthiness assessment, the right of withdrawal, and rules for advertising and for how the contract is concluded. Most of them fall on the lender, that is the bank or payment provider offering instalments or a payment pause. Some, however, land directly in the shop, because the shop decides which payment methods it shows, how it presents them in the checkout and how it advertises instalments on product and category pages. At the same time, the legislator has limited the information duties for small credits. For free financial accommodations, for amounts under EUR 200 and for credits that have to be repaid within three months and incur only minor costs, the pre-contractual information is limited to the key details (Article 247 Section 3 EGBGB new version). The ministry speaks of a clear, one-page information sheet (BMJV).

Old contracts, old law

For obligations involving a consumer loan or a financial accommodation that existed before 20 November 2026, the previous law continues to apply (Article 229 Section 71 EGBGB new version). What matters, then, is when the contract is concluded. An instalment order from the day before runs to the end under the old law, the same order on the effective date under the new law. For the shop this means that texts, payment terms and checkout must be switched over at the start of the effective date, not at the end of the month.

Buying on invoice remains exempt within limits

For purchases on invoice, the legislator has used an exemption from the directive. The ministry writes that buying on invoice is in principle not to be subject to the new consumer credit rules, and that this financing form, popular with consumers, is to be preserved as comprehensively as possible (BMJV). The words "in principle" should be taken seriously. The act does not contain a blanket exemption for everything labelled "invoice" in the checkout, but an exemption with conditions. Contracts are not a financial accommodation if the trader itself, without a third party granting a loan or payment deferral, grants the consumer free of charge a period for payment of no more than 50 days after delivery of the goods or provision of the service, and the consumer can only incur limited costs in case of late payment (Section 506(1) BGB new version).

The shop grants the payment term itself; no third party grants the customer a loan or a payment deferral.
The deferral is free of charge: no surcharge for the invoice payment method, no interest.
The payment term ends no later than 50 days after delivery of the goods or provision of the service.
Only limited costs can arise in case of late payment; reminder fees and default interest are moderate and described in the terms and conditions.

A tighter tier applies to large companies. If a trader that is not a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC sells its goods at a distance over the internet, the payment term for the exemption may be no more than 14 days after delivery, and in addition no third party may acquire the receivable (Section 506(1) BGB new version). For orientation: small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of this recommendation employ fewer than 250 persons and either have an annual turnover of no more than EUR 50 million or an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 43 million (Recommendation 2003/361/EC). In groups of companies, partner and linked enterprises are included. Shops below these thresholds work with the 50-day limit, shops above them with the shorter period.

Many shops work with a service provider for invoice purchases that buys the receivable and bears the default risk. For these cases the Bundestag added a clarification compared with the government draft. The ministry writes that buying on invoice is not subject to the new consumer credit rules even when large online retailers assign their payment claim, for example as part of factoring to group companies or platform-owned payment service providers (BMJV). What matters is the structure. If the shop grants the payment term and merely assigns the receivable, it remains the party granting the deferral. If, on the other hand, a third party grants the customer a payment deferral under its own contract, that is a consumer credit of this third party. For large online retailers one question remains open: the statutory text requires that no third party acquires the receivable, while the ministry expressly names group companies and platform-owned payment service providers as harmless. Large companies that assign receivables should therefore have the design reviewed legally. How your contract with the provider is built is set out in its terms. This question should be clarified before the effective date, in writing and with a view to your own company size.

Checkout design	Exemption under Section 506(1) BGB new version	Consequence for the shop
Shop issues an invoice, 14-day payment term, no surcharge	Applies	No consumer credit, document the payment terms
Shop grants 30 days from delivery, no surcharge	Applies for SMEs, not for large online sellers	Large online sellers shorten to 14 days at most
Shop grants a 60-day payment term	Does not apply, more than 50 days	Financial accommodation with information and form duties
Invoice with a surcharge	Doubtful, the deferral is not free of charge	Drop the surcharge or have it reviewed legally
Payment pause or instalments via a third party	Does not apply	Credit of the third party, the shop watches advertising and checkout
Own instalment plan over several months	Does not apply, period longer than 50 days	The shop becomes a lender, check registration
Prepayment or payment on order	Not needed, no credit	Not affected

Instalments and pay later: consumer credit from the effective date

The picture is different for payment methods that go beyond the classic payment term. Instalments with interest were, as a rule, already consumer credit. Newly covered are above all two designs that were previously outside credit law: interest-free instalments, where the customer pays the purchase price in several monthly instalments without a surcharge, and the free payment pause, where a provider grants the customer a later payment date. From the effective date, both are financial accommodations within the meaning of Section 506 BGB, unless the exemption for the shop's own payment term applies (Section 506(1) BGB new version). For customers this means more protection. The lender has to assess creditworthiness, and the act is to state expressly that credit may only be granted if repayment is likely (BMJV). In future, the contract can be concluded in text form; an e-mail is sufficient (BMJV).

What of this lands with the shop? Anyone offering a lender's instalments or payment pause in the checkout can become a credit intermediary in legal terms. For retailers that only do this as an ancillary service to the sale, the legislator has kept the duties narrow: suppliers of goods that act as intermediaries merely in an ancillary capacity, for example by arranging a linked credit agreement as an ancillary service, are not additionally obliged like a lender to provide the pre-contractual information and a draft contract (Section 655a(2) BGB new version). Their own, narrower information duties as intermediaries remain. The shop also remains responsible for everything it shows itself: the advertising for instalments, the presentation of payment methods and the question of whether an option is preselected anywhere.

Lender

The bank or payment provider assesses creditworthiness, provides the pre-contractual information, concludes the contract in text form and informs about the right of withdrawal.

Shop as intermediary

The shop integrates the payment method and arranges the credit as an ancillary service. It is responsible for advertising, the checkout labels and a selection without presets.

Shop as lender

A shop that grants its own instalments beyond the exemption takes on the lender's duties itself and has to check registration with the financial supervisor.

One consequence concerns returns. If the shop grants a right of return that provides for a full refund of the purchase price for a fixed period of more than 14 days, the period for withdrawing from a linked credit agreement is extended until the end of the return period (Section 358(2a) BGB new version). So anyone advertising an extended right of return while also offering linked instalments also extends the withdrawal option for the credit. That is no reason to shorten a generous return policy, but it is a reason to align return and credit terms with the lender, because returns and credit withdrawals will be more closely linked in future.

Own instalment plans and registration

A special case is retailers that offer instalments themselves and keep the receivable, for example for furniture, electronics or high-priced equipment. Anyone who commercially grants consumer loans or corresponding financial accommodations is a lender within the meaning of the new Sales Financing Supervision Act, and if that lender is not a credit, payment, e-money or investment institution, the act applies to it (Sections 1 and 2 AbsFinAG). Such a lender needs to be registered with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, which keeps a public register of lenders (Section 4 AbsFinAG). Exempt are suppliers of goods that exclusively grant interest-free payment deferrals for their own goods in an ancillary capacity and only charge limited costs for late payment. This exemption, however, only applies to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Section 4 AbsFinAG). Especially in retail with a physical store and an online shop, where instalment offers are carried over from the store to the web, this limit deserves a closer look; what a retailer website should do beyond that is set out on the page websites for retail.

Anyone working with an institution that takes over the receivables under a prior agreement and specifies the contracts hands the supervisory duties over to that institution: the institution reports the connected retailers to the financial supervisor before it takes over the first receivable (Section 6 AbsFinAG). For retailers on online marketplaces, registration is to be bundled via the marketplace (BMJV). Lenders that were already active before the act entered into force may continue their activity without registration for up to twelve months (Section 10 AbsFinAG). After that it gets expensive: anyone acting as a lender without registration commits an administrative offence, and the fine can be up to EUR 500,000 (Section 8 AbsFinAG).

Interest-free does not mean exempt

The exemption from registration and the exemption from consumer credit law are two different things. An interest-free instalment plan over several months can be exempt from registration for a small company and still remain a financial accommodation under Section 506 BGB because the payment period is longer than 50 days. In that case the information duties, the right of withdrawal and the form requirements of credit law apply, even though no registration with the financial supervisor is needed. Whether an own instalment plan falls under the exemption in the individual case should be clarified legally before the effective date.

Instalment advertising: warning and mandatory details

The most visible change concerns advertising. The act adds a new number 23e to the list in the annex to the Act against Unfair Competition. Commercial practices on this list are unlawful towards consumers without any weighing in the individual case. It covers advertising for credit products under Section 491(2) or Section 506(1) BGB, and therefore also for interest-free instalments and payment pauses, if it does without a clear and prominent warning about the costs of borrowing (Annex No. 23e UWG new version). The wording is prescribed:

advertising for credit products under Section 491(2) or Section 506(1) of the Civil Code where (a) it is made without a clear and prominent warning about the costs associated with borrowing, in which case the wording "Attention! Borrowing money costs money" or an equivalent wording is to be used

Annex No. 23e(a) UWG as amended by BGBl. 2026 I No. 139, unofficial translation

The new number lists three further patterns that will be unlawful: advertising that encourages consumers to borrow by suggesting that a credit would improve their financial situation; the statement that existing credits or credits registered in databases have little or no influence on the assessment of a credit application; and the false suggestion that a credit would increase financial resources, replace savings or raise the consumer's standard of living (Annex No. 23e UWG new version). For shops these are not abstract cases. Sentences such as "More room in your budget thanks to instalments" or "Instalments without looking at existing loans" should be removed from banners, product pages and newsletters before the effective date. An invoice purchase that meets the conditions of the exemption is, according to the wording, not a financial accommodation; the new number does not require a warning for it.

Alongside the warning, the mandatory details of the Price Indication Ordinance apply. Anyone advertising to consumers with interest rates or other figures relating to costs must state clearly, unambiguously and prominently the net loan amount, the borrowing rate including the type of rate and the annual percentage rate of charge, and where applicable also the term, the total amount, the instalment amount and, for a payment deferral for specific goods, the cash price (Section 17 PAngV new version). These requirements expressly also apply to payment deferrals and other financial accommodations (Section 19 PAngV new version). The details must come with an example, and that example must be based on an annual percentage rate at which the advertiser can expect at least two thirds of the resulting contracts to be concluded (Section 17 PAngV new version). The additional details on term, total amount, instalment amount and cash price do not apply to advertising for credits where the pre-contractual information is limited to the key details, for example free-of-charge credits (Section 17(3) PAngV new version). Whether a monthly amount below the product price already counts as a figure relating to costs, and so triggers the mandatory details, should be clarified legally before the effective date.

"Pay in instalments" notice with a monthly amount below the price on the product page
Banners on the home page and category pages for financing promotions
Notices in the cart and in the checkout, for example from a certain order value
Newsletters, promotional e-mails and ads on social networks
Product data sent to price comparison and shopping portals
Theme and extension components that display instalment amounts automatically

If you are reviewing price information anyway, it makes sense to include the instalment notices in the same pass. What applies to strike-through prices and discount promotions is described in the article on strike-through prices and discounts. Both reviews follow the same logic: every figure on a product page that promises an advantage needs the details that the law attaches to precisely this figure.

No preselection in the checkout

The second place where the shop acts itself is the checkout. For general consumer loans, the new law requires an unambiguous declaration by the customer. It is not sufficient for concluding the contract if the declaration is made via preset options, in particular via pre-ticked boxes. If boxes are used, the customer must first be informed about the content of the agreement and must make clear with the declaration, unambiguously, that they want to enter into it. This also applies to further services offered in connection with the credit (Section 492(1a) BGB new version). Via Section 506 BGB the provision applies equally to instalments and payment pauses. The act also adds conclusion via presets to the list of consumer law infringements (Article 246e EGBGB new version).

In concrete terms, this means for the checkout: no payment method that triggers a credit is preselected when the page loads. Preselecting the most recently used payment method should also be dropped for credit-based payment methods. Add-on services such as payment protection insurance must not be preset with a tick and, in principle, must not be made a condition of the credit, because tying practices, where the credit agreement is made dependent on purchasing further financial products, are prohibited for the lender subject to statutory exceptions (Section 492a BGB new version). Independently of credit law, it already applies today that an agreement on an additional payment in electronic commerce only becomes part of the contract if the trader does not bring it about through a preset (Section 312a(3) BGB).

An empty selection as the default

A checkout without preselection does not have to become more cumbersome if the payment methods are clearly labelled. Each payment method carries a short sentence on period and costs, credit-based methods additionally carry the warning and a reference to the lender's information. The customer chooses actively, and this active choice is exactly what the new law requires. How to keep a checkout lean in the process is described in the article on cart abandonment; the ordering process can be improved measurably with targeted conversion optimization.

What shops should check before the effective date

Little time remains until the effective date, and part of it belongs to the Christmas season. A sensible order starts with an inventory and ends with a complete test run:

List all payment methods in the shop, including those that only appear for certain customer groups, delivery countries or cart values.
For each payment method, record who grants the deferral, the shop itself or a third party, and whether receivables are assigned.
Check the invoice purchase against the four conditions: granted by the shop, free of charge, at most 50 days after delivery, limited default costs. Large online sellers work with 14 days.
Request the contracts and terms of the payment providers and clarify which information the lender itself displays in the checkout.
Collect instalment notices on product pages, banners, in newsletters and in ads, and add the warning and mandatory details or remove them.
Remove every preselection for credit-based payment methods and add-on services in the checkout and add period and costs to the labels.
Adapt terms and conditions, payment terms, order confirmation and invoice template to the period and run through the ordering process once in full for each payment method.

In a Shopware CE shop, most of these points are configuration and text work. Payment methods can be tied to conditions via availability rules, for example to customer group, delivery country or cart value, and each payment method has its own description that appears in the checkout. Payment term and due date belong in the order confirmation and the invoice template. It gets more involved where payment provider extensions display their own notices, instalment calculators or banners. These components belong in the review because their texts are not maintained in the shop. How we build and adapt online shops is shown on the page online shops with Shopware CE; if an existing shop is looked after on an ongoing basis, the switch can be planned as part of website care.

The timing deserves attention. The effective date falls in the weeks in which many shops plan a content freeze so as not to put the Christmas season at risk. Adding the switch as a separate step to the roadmap for the Christmas season allows it to be prepared, tested and switched live as planned on the effective date. If you are also planning a promotion with a prize draw in Advent, you will find the rules for it in the article on the Advent prize draw.

Two distinctions belong here. First, consumer credit law governs contracts with consumers. Pure B2B shops that only sell to businesses are, as a rule, not covered by these changes. Business founders are an exception: for natural persons who obtain a payment deferral or other financial accommodation to take up their activity, the rules also apply up to a monetary threshold (Section 513 BGB). How invoice purchases, payment terms and approvals work there is described in the article on the B2B online shop. Second, this is about the law, not about which payment methods customers expect and how they influence the purchase decision. That is the topic of the article on payment methods in the online shop. If you have yet to choose a shop system, the comparison Shopware CE shop or website builder offers guidance.

Sources and legal basis

This article is based on data from: the Act transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2225 on credit agreements for consumers (BGBl. 2026 I No. 139 of 18 May 2026) with the amendments to the BGB (Sections 358, 491, 492, 492a, 506 and 655a), the EGBGB (Article 229 Section 71, Article 246e and Article 247 Section 3), the UWG (Annex No. 23e) and the Price Indication Ordinance (Sections 17 and 19), as well as the new Sales Financing Supervision Act (Sections 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10), the FAQ of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) on the transposition of the Consumer Credit Directive (as of April 2026), Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC on the definition of SMEs and Sections 312a and 513 BGB in the version published by the Federal Office of Justice. The article classifies the legal position for work on shop and checkout and does not replace legal advice in an individual case.