On 30 June 2026, the Minister for Finance signed into law the European Union (Distance Contracts for Financial Services) Regulations 2026 (S.I. No. 309 of 2026) (Regulations).
The Regulations transpose Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (DMD II), which creates a new framework for certain financial services contracts concluded at a distance, into Irish law. For a quick overview of the key elements of DMD II, please see our previous article here.
The Regulations implement DMD II by incorporating its requirements directly into the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (2022 Act). This is achieved through the insertion of a new Part 5A, entitled “Distance Contracts for Financial Services”, together with a series of amendments throughout the Act. The Regulations also replace Ireland’s previous distance marketing regime, as set out in the European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services) Regulations 2004.
DMD II came into effect on 18 December 2023 and was to be transposed by each Member State by 19 December 2025, with implementing measures taking effect from 19 June 2026. The publication of the Regulations, while delayed, is a welcome development for financial services consumers in Ireland.
Key Provisions of the Regulations
The Regulations remained relatively faithful to the text of DMD II, and key features of the Regulations are set out below.
Scope
Not all distance financial services contracts are in scope. The Regulations carve out certain services, including foreign exchange services, money market instruments, UCITS, and travel and baggage insurance or similar short-term policies of less than one month.
A “consumer” for the purposes of the 2022 Act and the Regulations means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession.
Introduction of an Online Cancellation Function
Firms are now required to provide an online cancellation function which enables a consumer to cancel their distance contract within the relevant cooling-off period.
The cancellation function must be:
- clearly labelled with the words “cancel contract here”;
- prominently displayed on the online interface;
- easily accessible by the consumer; and
- continuously available throughout the cancellation period.
To exercise the cancellation right, consumers must be able to submit a cancellation statement online, identify the contract being cancelled and receive an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium.
Cancellation Period
The Regulations introduce cancellation periods during which a consumer may withdraw from a distance contract without penalty or providing a reason.
The cancellation period for a distance contract will run for 14 days from the later of:
- the date on which the distance contract is concluded; or
- the day on which the consumer receives the contractual terms and conditions and the pre-contractual information.
The cancellation period for personal pension products is 30 days.
A firm may only charge for services provided before cancellation, and only where the consumer was duly informed and had requested performance of the contract before the end of the cancellation period.
Pre-Contractual Information Requirements
Under the Regulations, firms must provide prescribed information “in good time” before the consumer is bound by the distance contract.
The information must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner, on a durable medium, and also in an appropriate and accessible format where requested by a consumer with a disability.
The prescribed information to be provided includes:
- identity, geographical address and contact details of the firm
- details of the firm’s authorisation (where applicable) and contact information of the relevant supervisory authority
- the main characteristics of the financial service
- the total price, including all related fees, charges, expenses and taxes
- the consequences of late or missed payments
- whether pricing has been personalised using automated decision-making
- environmental or social objectives, where such factors are integrated into the investment strategy of the financial service provider
- whether there is a right to cancel the contract and, if so, the cancellation period applicable and the consequences of not exercising the right to cancel.
Adequate Explanations
Firms must adequately explain the proposed distance contract and any ancillary services, enabling consumers to assess the services against their needs and financial situation.
Firms must provide consumers with adequate explanations, free of charge, prior to concluding the distance contract. Such explanations include:
- the provision of the set pre-contractual information;
- information on the essential characteristics of the distance contract and, where relevant, the ancillary services; and
- information on specific effects that the distance contract may have on the consumer, including, where applicable, the consequences of late payment or payment default by the consumer.
Notably, consumers of distance contracts now have an explicit right to request and obtain human intervention from a firm before being bound by the contract, and, in justified cases, following entry into the contract. Assistance must be provided in the same language as the pre-contractual information supplied to the consumer.
Protections Against Dark Patterns
The Regulations introduce explicit protections against manipulative online practices, commonly known as “dark patterns”. Firms must not design, organise or operate their online interfaces in a manner that deceives or manipulates consumers or materially distorts their ability to make free and informed decisions.
DMD II allows Member States to address at least one of three types of manipulative practices in local transposing measures, namely:
- giving more prominence to certain choices when asking consumers to make a decision over services,
- repeatedly asking consumers to make a choice they have already made, including through the use of pop-ups; or
- making it more difficult to terminate a service than to subscribe to it.
The Regulations take a targeted approach by addressing only the first of these practices. Firms must provide consumers with information, in plain and clear language, on the main parameters used to determine the ranking of the offers presented to them and the relative importance of those parameters.
Safety-Net Measures
Where other sector-specific EU financial services legislation provides rules on cancellation rights, pre-contractual information, or adequate explanations, those sector-specific rules will take precedence over the requirements set out in the Regulations.
The Regulations are therefore intended to operate as a “safety net” regime by affording rights to consumers of financial services distance contracts who are not already covered by sector- specific regimes.
Enforcement
The Regulations introduce liability for firms where they fail to comply with the new measures. Summary proceedings can be brought by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission or the Central Bank of Ireland, as appropriate.
Discretionary Measures
The Regulations implement each of the discretionary measures in DMD II, which the Department of Finance previously indicated would be included in the Irish transposition in its outcome statement published on 29 October 2025 (Outcome Statement).
Ireland has not exercised the discretion to provide that consumers cannot be required to pay any amount where they withdraw from an insurance contract, or the discretion to specify the manner and extent to which adequate explanations will be given. These measures were not addressed in the Outcome Statement.
For further information on the Outcome Statement, please see our previous article here.
Conclusion
The Regulations modernise Irish consumer financial services law and strengthen the safeguards for consumers who enter financial services contracts at a distance.
Given the delay in publishing and transposing the Regulations, Irish firms may face difficulty in adequately implementing the measures. The importance of swift and effective implementation cannot be underestimated, as firms may be penalised for failing to comply with the new requirements.
If you wish to discuss this topic in more detail, please contact any member of our Insurance or Fintech teams.
Contributed by: Yashasvi Maleyvar, Martha Ní Dhochartaigh and Conor Forde
