The expert spoke about consumer protection through the new installment law

Installments are becoming a less risky financial instrument due to legislative changes that will take effect on April 1, 2026. The new law will eliminate the key vulnerabilities of installments — hidden overpayments, uncontrolled debt burden and excessive fines, as well as enhance transparency and consumer protection when making purchases. Evgeny Shatov, a partner at Capital Lab, told Izvestia about this on July 23.

"The main risks for citizens when using installments before the law was passed were hidden interest and overpayments, unlimited fines and difficulties with early repayment, over-crediting due to lack of control and long—term risks in the real estate market," explained Shatov.

He explained that sellers often overestimated the cost of goods, disguising interest under it. Thus, when buying a home, the price could be 2-3 million rubles higher than the market price, and in retail, additional commissions were often included through insurance and imposed services, which increased the final overpayment to 20-80% per annum.

The expert also noted that penalties were levied for late payments, the amount of which was not regulated, and contracts often lacked the possibility of early repayment without penalties. In addition, information about installments was not transmitted to credit bureaus, which led to a hidden debt burden: citizens accumulated liabilities exceeding 50% of income, but banks did not see this data when issuing mortgages. According to him, by 2025, the total installment debt of Russians reached 1 trillion rubles, and 40% of transactions in the primary housing market were concluded in installments.

The triumph of installments: benefit or hidden threat

An interesting tool in the future may entail risks for the financial system.

In addition, long-term risks in the real estate market lie in the fact that the purchase of apartments in installments for a period of more than 3 years, for example, up to 10 years, deprived buyers of escrow account protection, and in the event of bankruptcy of the developer they risked losing money. Developers did not check the solvency of customers, which increased the risk of defaults.

"The law introduces a ban on hidden fees and price discrimination. Sellers are prohibited from setting different prices for goods when paying immediately and in installments, which eliminates overpayments that were disguised as "special conditions". Secondly, protection against excessive fines is being introduced: the penalty for delay is limited to 20% per annum of the amount owed, while citizens can pay off installments ahead of schedule without fees. Thirdly, measures are being introduced to control the debt burden. With the total amount of installment obligations exceeding 50 thousand rubles, operators are required to transfer data to the BKI, which will help banks adequately assess the risks when issuing loans," said Shatov.

According to the expert, the law provides for a reduction in the installment period: from 2026, the maximum period is six months, from 2028 — four months, which will reduce the risk of long—term insolvency, especially when buying real estate. In addition, the law imposes updated requirements on operators: companies must enter the register of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and have capital of at least 5 million rubles, and all illegal services will be excluded from the market.

According to Shatov, a ban on different prices when paying in installments or immediately will increase the transparency of transactions and reduce overpayments. However, he also noted potential disadvantages, pointing out that the installment offer for expensive goods may decrease, and to compensate for the risks, operators may tighten requirements for customers.

"As a result, the new law eliminates the key risks of installments — hidden overpayments, uncontrolled over-crediting and aggressive fines. However, it can reduce the availability of long-term programs, especially in real estate. For home buyers, there are still risks associated with the insolvency of developers: the new law does not apply to direct contracts with sellers (for example, DDU). Thus, the reform will increase the safety of retail installments, but problems in the construction sector will require separate regulation," concluded Shatov.

On July 15, Elizaveta Danilova, head of the Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Russia, told Izvestia that the Central Bank was concerned about the "gray" schemes of atypical installments, which are taken after housing is put into operation. According to her, developers are finding ways to circumvent the requirements of the law, which implies that installments are issued only for apartments in buildings under construction.

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