When the FCA's Consumer Duty rules came into force for open financial products on 31 July 2023, there were real concerns in the industry about what they might mean for popular 0% interest credit card deals. The rules require firms to deliver "good outcomes" for customers, avoid foreseeable harm, and demonstrate fair value — standards that some worried 0% products, which profit partly from customers missing repayment deadlines, might struggle to meet.

Looking back from today, the market has proven resilient rather than diminished. As of September 2026, 0% balance transfer and purchase deals remain a core part of the UK credit card market — indeed, the longest deals currently available are longer than they were before Consumer Duty took effect.

What Consumer Duty actually changed

Consumer Duty didn't ban or restrict 0% deals directly. Instead, it pushed firms to reassess pricing, communication, and account structures more broadly. Some providers, for example, restructured savings accounts that had previously been available online-only, so that customers could also manage them by branch or telephone — a direct response to Consumer Duty's fair-access expectations.

Because the FCA leaves firms to interpret what counts as a "good outcome" in their own context, responses have varied. Some banks concluded that limiting products to online-only channels wasn't compatible with good outcomes for all customers; others have focused more narrowly on pricing and fee transparency.

The specific concern around 0% credit cards

James Daley, managing director of the consumer group Fairer Finance, was among those who raised concerns about credit cards specifically under the new regime. Around six months after Consumer Duty took effect, he said: "There is doubt over whether credit card firms can prove that they offer fair value to all their customers." He also argued that "credit card business models rely on bad customer outcomes for their profitability," and that cards more broadly "do far too many things, are far too complex, and are far too expensive."

These comments point to the underlying tension for 0% deals specifically: they depend, in part, on some customers missing the promotional deadline and reverting to a much higher standard rate.

What's happened since

Rather than disappearing, 0% deals have adapted. As of September 2026, the longest 0% balance transfer periods on the market reach up to 38 months, with fees on the longest deals generally in the 3.1%–3.5% range; the longest fee-free balance transfer offers reach around 12 months. The longest 0% purchase deals currently reach up to 26 months. These figures shift regularly, sometimes within weeks, so it's worth checking current terms directly with individual providers rather than relying on a snapshot.

Lenders have generally leaned on more sophisticated eligibility checks to manage risk, rather than withdrawing 0% offers altogether. Whether this fully satisfies Consumer Duty's fair-value test is still an open question the FCA continues to monitor — but so far, the product category itself has survived, even as its underlying economics have shifted.