On 22 May 2026, the National Bank of Serbia (the “NBS”) published a draft law amending the Law on Financial Consumer Protection (the “Law”), aimed at achieving full alignment with EU regulations.
The existing Law, adopted just over a year ago, already introduced significant reforms—including interest rate caps, improved pre-contractual disclosure, enhanced early repayment rights, and the first-ever regulation of cross-selling of financial services and bank employee remuneration policies. The proposed amendments now go a step further, addressing three areas that remained partially unregulated.
First, the draft introduces a comprehensive framework for credit intermediaries, covering licensing, supervision, permitted activities, and fee arrangements. Second, it extends pre-contractual information obligations to merchants who offer customers deferred payment, loans, or similar financing arrangements—including “Buy Now, Pay Later” products, which are expected to grow in the Serbian market. Merchants intending to offer any form of customer financing from their own funds will be required to obtain a license and will fall under NBS supervision. Third, debt advisory services are formally recognized and regulated for the first time, with implementation of those provisions to be deferred pending further guidance from the European Commission.
The draft has been published to allow all interested parties to easily identify the proposed amendments and preview the future consolidated version of the Law. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments, proposals, and opinions to the NBS by 2 June 2026. The draft is available here.
