Consumer credit awards winners 2026

Now in their eleventh year, the Consumer credit awards recognise the achievements of the credit industry, including loan providers, credit unions, credit information partners, retail finance and more. It’s up to consumers to vote, making the awards both unique and a true endorsement of customer satisfaction. 

StepChange was one of this year’s big winners, retaining both the Company of the year and the Best financial support provider awards, while also winning Treating customers fairly champion for the first time. Enterprise Credit Union also took home multiple awards, retaining both Credit union of the year and Best credit union (North), while adding Best credit union savings provider to its list of accolades this year.

PayPal also stood out among this year’s winners, with the PayPal brand securing the highly sought-after Best credit app award, recognising the success of both PayPal Pay in 3 and PayPal Credit. PayPal Credit also took home the award for Best retail finance provider. As one of the UK’s most recognisable financial brands, PayPal’s success reflects consistently strong customer sentiment in one of the industry’s most competitive awards.  

Elsewhere, First Response Finance took home Customer service champion.

The engagement in this year’s awards has been nothing short of incredible, with over 291,000 reviews left across the 21 categories.

Commenting on the results, Smart Money People’s CEO Peer Jelendorf said:

“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists. The Consumer credit awards celebrate the companies and teams that are making a real difference to customers, whether through outstanding service, innovative products or a continued commitment to treating customers fairly.

Customer feedback is at the heart of these awards. The reviews we collect through Smart Money People provide a genuine reflection of people’s experiences and help shine a light on the organisations that are delivering exceptional outcomes for their customers.

Every winner and finalist should be incredibly proud of their achievements. A huge congratulations to everyone recognised this year, and thank you to all the customers who took the time to share their experiences and make these awards possible.”

Here’s the full list of our Consumer credit awards 2026 winning companies:

Headline awards

Company of the year – StepChange

Credit union of the year - Enterprise Credit Union

Best credit app – PayPal

Innovation of the year – Lendable

Customer service champion - First Response Finance

Treating customers fairly champion - StepChange

Credit-specific awards

Best car finance provider – Carmoola

Best consumer credit broker – CredAbility

Best consumer credit report provider – TotallyMoney

Best credit building product provider – Zable

Best credit union (North) - Enterprise Credit Union (Highly commended – Manchester Credit Union)

Best credit union (South) - London Capital Credit Union

Best credit union loan provider - Central Credit Union

Best credit union savings provider - Enterprise Credit Union

Best financial support provider – StepChange

Best retail finance provider - PayPal Credit

Best secured loan provider - Evolution Money

Best short-term loan provider - Lending Stream

Partner-specific awards

Technology partner of the year – LendingMetrics

Credit information partner of the year - TransUnion UK

Open banking partner of the year - Yapily

The Consumer credit awards will be back in 2027!

Voting will open for the eleventh Consumer credit awards on 5 April 2027, so save the date!