2026 Categories
Over 30 categories that highlight exceptional achievements, innovation, and leadership across the credit and financial services sector, offering opportunities to recognise the brightest talents and top-performing teams in the industry.
Getting started
Login or register for free to view the category criteria. From there you can enter as many categories you wish and can edit and return to your entries as many times as you like before the final deadline.
Entry deadline
An admin fee is applied for each entry submission. A early entry fee of £221 + VAT will be applied until 9 January 2026. A standard entry fee of £332 + VAT will be applied until the final deadline of 7 March 2026.
Need help?
Contact our Awards team.
To view the categories suited to you, select your organisation type below:
Creditor: Any business that lends money/ extends credit to consumers or other businesses (including utilities and telecoms providers)
Service Provider: A company that offers products or services to support creditors (including not-for-profits and brokers)
Creditor categories
Alternative Lender of the Year
Who should enter?
This category is for non-standard UK consumer lenders, who are redefining the financial services sector...
Best Company to Work For
Who should enter?
Any UK creditor business within the financial services eco-system is eligible to enter.
Best Consumer Credit Product
Who should enter?
Financial institutions, fintech companies, or any other organisations offering consumer credit products in the market, including Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, Point of Sale (POS) financing, and credit cards.
Best Marketing Campaign of the Year
Who should enter?
Any organisation from any sector including commissioning organisations, PR agencies and marketing consultancies.
Best Outsourcing & Partnership Initiative
Who should enter?
This award is for BPO providers, debt collection/purchase businesses, plus all other types of businesses and organisations working with, or providing services to, creditors...
Best Use of Open Banking
Who should enter?
Financial institutions, fintech companies, technology firms, and any organisations that have leveraged open banking data and/or APIs to create innovative solutions are eligible to enter.
Best Use of Technology
Who should enter?
This category is for any business within financial services making use of technology to enhance its business performance, either internally or externally...
Car Finance Provider of the Year
Who should enter?
This category is for car finance providers in the UK that offer financial products and services to help consumers purchase vehicles, typically through various loan or leasing arrangements...
Company Award for Climate Risk Action
Who should enter?
Any business, or organisation, working within financial services, utilities and telecoms, or the public sectors, including service providers.
Credit Risk Team of the Year
Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer
Who should enter?
Any business, or organisation, working within financial services, utilities and telecoms, or the public sectors, including service providers, or charities.
Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility
Who should enter?
Any business, or organisation, working within financial services, utilities and telecoms, or the public sectors, including service providers, or charities.
Excellence in Credit Risk Modelling
Who should enter?
Credit risk teams from any sector working on either consumer and/or commercial credit risk.
Excellence in Fraud Prevention
Who should enter?
Applications may come from teams in any sector of the consumer or commercial fraud prevention including all the industry sectors covered by the fraud data sharing arrangements such as CIFAS.
Mortgage Lender of the Year
Who should enter?
Companies that are defined as mortgage lenders by credit trade associations such as the BSA or UK Finance Association (CML) or fit the commonly held definitions of those corporate entities.
Outstanding Conduct in Collections
Who should enter?
Firms that are championing best practice amongst consumer credit lenders, or service providers, in terms of how they deal with customers in arrears.
Retail Bank of the Year
Who should enter?
This category is open to all UK-regulated retail banks, including established institutions and challenger/digital banks...
Rising Star of the Year
Who should enter?
Those who work in any part of the credit industry with less than five years’ industry service.
SME Lender of the Year
Who should enter?
Any UK business lending to business customers - including banks, asset finance companies, invoice finance companies, P2P and fintech lenders, and commercial mortgage providers...
Utilities and Telecoms Team of the Year
Who should enter?
Companies eligible to be nominated include credit or collections teams working with, or for, consumer and commercial customers for a creditor in the energy, water or telecoms sector...
Vulnerable Customer Strategy of the Year
Who should enter?
Any organisation where customer vulnerability is a significant consideration in conduct policy.
More information
Confidentiality
All materials will remain confidential to the judges. Winning case studies may be used in post-event materials to promote best practice but permission will be sought from entrants before publishing.
Terms & Conditions
By entering the awards, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions.
"The Credit Awards are the most established foremost awards for the industry - the one that everybody wants to win and to be at."
Mark Onyett
Partner, Blenheim Chalcot
member of
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