Sweden has some of the strictest consumer credit rules in Europe. Here are the four that affect your wallet most right now, and the fifth arriving in November.
Since 1 March 2025 the nominal rate on consumer credit may not exceed the reference rate plus 20 percentage points. Riksbanken set the reference rate at 2.00% for 1 July– 31 December 2026, giving a cap of 22,00 %. The cap applies to essentially all consumer credit, personal loans, credit cards, revolving credit and quick loans. Mortgages are exempt.
Source: Consumer Credit Act, section 19 a (2010:1846) and Riksbanken’s decision on the reference rate.
The total cost of credit may never exceed the amount borrowed. Borrow SEK 30,000 and the total debt can never grow beyond SEK 60,000, however long you delay paying. The cap covers interest, fees, penalty interest and inkassokostnader tillsammans.
Applies since 1 March 2025 to all consumer credit, not only high-cost credit as before.
This is the single biggest change for Swedish households in 2026. The deduction for interest on unsecured loans was halved in 2025 and removed entirely on 1 januari 2026. A personal loan of SEK 200,000 at 9% previously cost around SEK 12,600 net per year after the deduction, today it costs the full 18 000 kr. Skatteverket estimates that around 5.8 million people are affected. Mortgages and other secured loans are unaffected.
The effect first shows up in the tax return in spring 2027, covering the 2026 income year.
The arrangement fee may be at most 1% of the prisbasbelopp. With the prisbasbelopp at SEK 59,200 for 2026 that means 592 kr. A credit term may also be extended only once, unless the extension is free of charge.
On 20 November 2026 an entirely new Consumer Credit Act takes effect, implementing the EU’s second Consumer Credit Directive. It widens the affordability requirements and brings instalment services more clearly under the rules.
You may withdraw from a credit agreement within 14 days of signing. You pay interest only for the days you held the money, plus any arrangement fee already charged.
An unsecured loan may always be repaid early with no penalty. The lender may charge interest only up to the settlement date. That makes overpaying the cheapest rate cut available.
Before you sign you must receive the “Standard European Consumer Credit Information” sheet. It states the exact rate, every fee and the total amount. If you are not given one, do not sign.
Updated