What Croatia’s new consumer credit rules mean for instalment purchases

ZAGREB, 22 July 2026 (Hina) – Instalment purchases made using credit and debit cards will continue under the existing system and will not require a new creditworthiness assessment for every individual transaction, Croatia’s Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

The clarification follows the adoption of a new Consumer Credit Act by the Croatian Parliament on 15 July. The legislation, which transposes the EU’s revised Consumer Credit Directive, is due to enter into force on 20 November 2026, although certain provisions will apply later to specific entities and credit products.

The Ministry said the new rules have prompted questions from consumers and retailers, as well as media reports containing incomplete or inaccurate information about the future of instalment purchases.

The Ministry stressed that a distinction must be made between instalment payments made through a credit or debit card and situations in which a retailer directly allows a customer to pay for goods or services over time.

When a consumer uses a card to make an instalment purchase, the bank or card issuer has already assessed the customer’s creditworthiness, set a credit limit and agreed the terms governing its use.

In that case, the bank or card issuer is the creditor. Each individual instalment purchase represents the use of an already approved credit facility rather than the conclusion of a new credit agreement or the granting of a new loan.

As a result, the Ministry said, a new creditworthiness assessment will not be carried out for every individual card purchase made in instalments.

The retailer, meanwhile, is not the creditor in this arrangement. It does not approve the credit, determine the credit limit or assume the risk of repayment. It simply accepts a payment method made available to the customer by the card issuer.

The Ministry therefore said that the new legislation does not significantly change the existing system for instalment purchases made using credit and debit cards.

A different situation applies when a retailer allows a customer to pay in instalments directly, without the involvement of a bank or card issuer.

In such cases, the deferred payment does not involve the use of a credit limit previously approved by a bank. Instead, the retailer directly provides the instalment arrangement and assumes the risk of collecting the payments.

Such arrangements can be found in purchases of mobile phones, technical equipment, furniture, travel and other goods and services where the retailer itself finances the instalment payments.

Under the new law, the retailer may then be considered the creditor and will have to meet the obligations imposed on creditors.

One of the key requirements is an assessment of the consumer’s creditworthiness before a credit agreement is concluded. This is intended to establish whether the consumer is realistically able to meet the agreed instalments, taking into account income, existing financial obligations and other relevant circumstances.

However, the Ministry said the application of this obligation has been postponed until 1 June 2027.

The Ministry of Finance said the new rules are not intended to restrict retailers’ business activities or make instalment purchases more difficult.

Instead, their purpose is to promote responsible lending and help prevent consumers from taking on financial obligations that they cannot realistically repay given their income and existing debts.

Consumers will therefore continue to have access to different forms of instalment payment, the Ministry said, while the responsibilities of those acting as creditors will be more clearly defined depending on the payment model used.

The detailed manner in which creditworthiness assessments will be conducted, including specific criteria and methodology, will be regulated by the Croatian National Bank through secondary legislation.