2025 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 17 January 2025 A standard entry fee of £332 + VAT will be applied until the final deadline of 07 March 2025.
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 - Company Awards
Alternative Lender of the Year
Who should enter?
This category is for non-prime or non-standard UK consumer lenders, or any business otherwise making credit available to people who have difficulty gaining credit from major banks.
The winning entry will…
Be a credible business with a good reputation, and an ability to balance social responsibility with commercial success.
Best Consumer Credit Product
Who should enter?
Financial in 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
The winning entry will…
Demonstrate outstanding performance and innovation in the consumer credit space. It should showcase a product that offers tangible benefits to consumers while maintaining responsible and ethical lending practices.
Best Company to Work For
Who should enter?
Any UK business is eligible, including banks, other consumer and commercial lending organisations of all kinds, local or central government entities, utility or telecoms providers, retail businesses, debt purchasers, DCAs, BPOs, law firms, personal insolvency firms, debt management firms and judicial services providers, and service and technology companies supplying any of the above.
The winning entry will…
Show why the company considers itself to be the best, in its peer group, to work for.
Best Marketing Campaign of the Year
Who should enter?
Any organisation from any sector including commissioning organisations, PR agencies and marketing consultancies.
The winning entry will…
Showcase the deployment of a range of media that has promoted a product or service. This could include print, broadcast, online advertising, viral marketing, social media and other apps, email marketing, SMS campaigns and integrated on and offline campaigns.
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. Debt advice bodies and publicly-funded organisations may also apply. An organisation may nominate in conjunction with a creditor. Joint submissions are encouraged from third party partners and creditor organisations, to demonstrate how the firms have been working together to enhance business performance, reach satisfactory conclusions for all parties and enhance the customer journey.
The winning entry will…
Highlight how in the past 12 months an initiative with an external organisation helped to improve the customer experience generally for consumer and/or business customers.
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. Joint submissions are encouraged from third party partners and creditor organisations, to demonstrate how the firms have been working together to enhance business performance, reach satisfactory conclusions for all parties and enhance the customer journey.
The winning entry will…
Demonstrate exceptional utilisation of open banking to deliver tangible benefits to consumers, businesses, or the financial industry. It should be a standout example of how open banking can transform financial services.
Best Use of Technology
Who should enter?
This category is for any business making use of technology to enhance its capability around either credit risk, collections, affordability assessments, onboarding, fraud prevention or data and analytics. Businesses using technology for automation and optimisation purposes, to improve customer service, will also be considered. Technology companies may enter either alone, or in partnership with businesses they have supplied.
The winning entry will…
Show an approach to technology that is more advanced or innovative than the industry standard, and which is generating concrete results.
Car Finance Provider of the Year
Who should enter?
Company applications must be made on behalf of organisations that are defined as car finance providers by credit trade associations such as the FLA or fit the commonly held definitions of those corporate entities.
The winning entry will…
Be able to showcase a range of achievements that place the firm ahead of its competitors in its sector.
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.
The winning entry will…
Serve as a role model for climate risk action, showcasing a comprehensive strategy and notable accomplishments in mitigating climate risk and promoting sustainability.
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.
The winning entry will…
An organisation which demonstrates an outstanding level of commitment and delivery of CSR activity.
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.
The winning entry will…
Be able to showcase a range of achievements that place the firm ahead of its competitors in its sector.
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. This category is for any UK bank or other lending institution with SME customers - note: brokers will be disqualified unless they also lend significantly on their own book.
The winning entry will…
Have achieved competitive and commercial success in the provision of commercial finance, with an emphasis on the business’ credit function.
Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer
Who should enter?
Any company operating in the credit space – lenders, suppliers and other non-creditors servicing the industry.
The winning entry will…
Showcase a commitment to diversity when hiring new staff that is reflected in the tone and company ethos that is set from the top, along with a clear focus on training and developing the careers of a workforce diversified across the following: Gender, Ethnicity, Disability, LGBTQ, Religion and faith, Social and economic background.
Vulnerable Customer Strategy of the Year
Who should enter?
Any organisation with consumer customers, where customer vulnerability is a significant consideration in conduct policy.
The winning entry will…
An organisation which demonstrates an advanced and effective approach to identifying and appropriately handling customer vulnerability.
Creditor categories - Individual Awards
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.
The winning entry will…
Need to demonstrate exceptional performance and career development.
Creditor categories - Team Awards
Commercial Utilities Team of the Year
Who should enter?
Any team of people working in the credit function of a commercial credit provider - please note, it is not aimed at pure collections teams. The nominated team may be from any business extending credit to UK businesses, including lending organisations of all kinds, trade creditors, utility and telecoms businesses, financial services businesses and local and central government entities.
The winning entry will…
Show how they have not only contributed to an excellent credit function, but to the success of their business overall.
Credit Risk Team of the Year
Who should enter?
Any team of people working in the credit risk function of any lender. The nominated team may be from any business extending credit to UK consumers, including lending organisations of all kinds, utility and telecoms businesses, retail businesses and local government entities.
The winning entry will…
Show how they have not only contributed to an excellent credit risk function , but to the success of their overall business
Excellence in Credit Risk Modelling
Who should enter?
Credit risk teams from any sector working on either consumer or commercial credit risk, or both.
The winning entry will…
Have developed credit risk models employing sound theoretical, technical and practical methods utilising existing and new techniques with proven effectiveness.
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.
The winning entry will…
Have developed credit fraud risk models employing sound theoretical, technical and practical methods utilising existing and new techniques with proven effectiveness.
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.
The winning entry will…
Demonstrate fair outcomes for their customers through the organisation of staff, systems and processes to deliver this in compliance with the majority of the requirements under the Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC).
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 (including home internet, TV and multimedia entertainment, other telecommunications/media activities). This category is open to in-house teams within creditors, however third party partners may nominate on their behalf.
The winning entry will…
How a team of any size involved in credit or collections within a telecoms creditor, has, in the past 12 months, improved their own performance, and contributed to the overall success of the business. Attention will be focused upon team performance, business success and operational excellence.
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