SECCI, the Standard European Consumer Credit Information sheet, is the document every consumer lender in Romania must hand over before any contract reaches the table. Legal basis: EU Directive 2008/48/EC, transposed through OUG 50/2010 (art. 11). The format is identical across the Union: a Romanian bank's offer and a Spanish bank's use the same grid, the same sections, the same fields.
The SECCI is not a marketing extra but a standardised legal form. Its absence from the lending procedure can make the contract challengeable in court, under OUG 50/2010 and ANPC case practice. Whoever signs without receiving it can contest the contract.
The essentials
• The SECCI is mandatory for any consumer credit up to 75,000 lei
• Mortgages have an equivalent form (ESIS, under Directive 2014/17/EU)
• It contains 4 sections structured identically across the EU
• It creates no obligations, it is purely informative
• It must be received BEFORE the contract is signed
What the SECCI contains, section by section
The document has 4 clearly defined sections:
Section 1: the lender's identity
Full legal name, registered office, BNR registration number (credit institutions register or NBFI register), contact details, the name of any intermediary. It says who the borrower signs with. For large banks (BCR, BT, ING, BRD, Raiffeisen) the data is self-evident. For an NBFI or online platform, this is where legitimacy gets checked.
Section 2: core features
Total credit amount, currency (lei or euro), loan term in months, interest type (fixed, variable on IRCC, variable on Euribor, mixed), drawdown arrangements (full disbursement or in tranches), repayment schedule. Here, verbal promises get checked against writing.
Section 3: costs
APR, the nominal rate, a detailed fee list (origination, monthly administration, monitoring), any mandatory insurance with its separate cost, the total cost of credit (principal plus interest plus fees). The key section. Every figure relevant to the decision sits here.
Section 4: consumer rights
The 14-day withdrawal right, early repayment conditions (maximum fee), contestation rights, the complaint procedure, ANPC contact details. Many skip it. It is exactly the part that protects when things go wrong.
The six fields worth checking every time
1) APR. The real annual cost, full package included. The only figure showing what the credit genuinely costs; all comparisons run on it. See What APR is for what goes in.
2) Total cost of credit. The full amount to be repaid: principal plus interest plus fees. It shows most clearly why a 60-month loan at 8% nominal is not the same thing as one at 8% APR.
3) The monthly instalment. It has to match the borrower's own calculation and fit within the debt-to-income limit (under 40% of net income); see the BNR debt-to-income rules.
4) The 14-day withdrawal right. Fourteen calendar days from signing to change one's mind, no reason, no penalty. Only interest for the days the money was used is due. Notice goes in writing, by confirmed e-mail or registered letter.
5) The early repayment fee. The legal cap: 1% with more than 12 months remaining, 0.5% below 12 months, zero on variable rates. Any other percentage means something is wrong: ask or walk away.
6) Required insurance. Check whether life, unemployment or work incapacity cover is mandatory. If so, its cost is included in the APR. If optional but pushed insistently, it can be refused without approval depending on it.
Table: comparing two SECCI sheets
A real example, two offers for a 32,000 lei credit over 48 months:
| SECCI field | Offer A (large bank) | Offer B (NBFI) |
|---|---|---|
| APR | 10.28% | 23.47% |
| Nominal rate | 9.12% | 19.80% |
| Origination fee | 1.4% (448 lei) | 3.5% (1,120 lei) |
| Monthly administration fee | 0.15% | 0.35% |
| Mandatory insurance | no | yes (87 lei/month) |
| Monthly instalment | 815 lei | 1,067 lei |
| Total cost of credit | 39,120 lei | 51,216 lei |
| 14-day withdrawal right | yes | yes |
| Early repayment fee | 1% / 0.5% | 1% / 0.5% |
The gap: 12,096 lei. Same amount, same term. That is what a correct SECCI comparison reveals.
Frequent mistakes when reading a SECCI
Reading only the first page. A SECCI usually runs 4-6 pages. APR and the instalment sit on page one, total cost and insurance further back, rights on the last page. Many sign after page one. The real cost often hides on pages 3-4.
The insistently suggested insurance. The consultant claims “all clients take it”. The SECCI shows whether it is mandatory or optional. If optional, it can be refused, with the APR recalculated without it. The difference can reach 0.8-1.2% APR.
Blank fields. An incomplete SECCI, with empty fields or entries marked “TBD”, signals a document generated in a hurry or not reflecting the final offer. Ask for a complete sheet, signed by a lender representative.
What to do when a lender refuses to provide the SECCI
Roman Dumitrescu, former BCR analyst, later product manager at ING: “If a lender refuses to hand over the SECCI or rushes you to sign because it is just a formality, that is a serious alarm signal. You don't negotiate. You leave. You file with ANPC. No serious lender behaves this way. The law, OUG 50/2010 art. 11 para. 1, is clear: a missing SECCI can render the contract void, and courts confirmed this in multiple rulings from 2018-2023.”
The concrete complaint steps:
1) Request the SECCI in writing (e-mail). Save the request with date and time.
2) If nothing arrives within 48 hours, file a complaint at anpc.ro/reclamatii with a copy of the request.
3) File in parallel with the BNR for a bank or registered NBFI (bnr.ro/contact).
4) For any open dispute, SAL-FIN (salfin.ro) offers free mediation.
The mortgage equivalent: ESIS
For mortgages the equivalent form is the ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet), under Directive 2014/17/EU. Similar structure, more detail: variable-rate scenarios (IRCC or Euribor rising by 1%, 2%, 3%), total cost under each, property insurance, notary and land registry fees.
The ESIS runs longer (8-12 pages) but carries more information. It deserves a calm read at home. Not in a branch with a consultant hovering behind.
Related guides
• What APR is and why it matters
• Consumer rights when taking out a credit
• Refinancing, when it truly pays off
• Compare personal loans
Frequently asked questions
Does the SECCI have to be signed? It is purely informative and creates no obligations. It must arrive before the actual contract is signed; the borrower only confirms having read it.
What absolutely needs checking? APR, total cost, the monthly instalment, the 14-day withdrawal right, the early repayment fee, imposed insurance. Six fields, the essentials covered.
Is the SECCI mandatory for fast NBFI loans too? Yes. OUG 50/2010 applies to all consumer credit up to 75,000 lei, bank or NBFI alike. An NBFI that gives no SECCI breaks the law.
Can the SECCI be requested after signing? Yes, a copy is available at any time under OUG 50/2010 art. 8. By then it is too late to renegotiate terms; only the 14-day withdrawal right remains.
On Kreditano, links to the official bank and NBFI simulators lead straight to the page where the SECCI can be requested. Kreditano does not generate the sheet, only shows where to get it at the source.
Case study: two SECCI sheets analysed
In 2022, an independent consulting client held two SECCI sheets for the same 28,500 lei credit over 36 months, from two NBFIs. Vasile, 47, a real estate agent in Brașov. One showed 19.8% APR, the other 26.4%. On close reading, the first hid an “optional” insurance that was in fact mandatory in the attached contract; the second was transparent. Counting the insurance, the first offer's real APR jumped to 24.7%, still better, though not by much.
A SECCI read properly tells the truth; one skimmed diagonally can cost a few thousand lei. Vasile took the first offer, refused the insurance and renegotiated. Final APR: 21.3%. Savings: 1,870 lei.
Digital vs paper SECCI
Since 2022, many banks and NBFIs issue the SECCI digitally, signed electronically. It is legally valid (Law 455/2001 as amended), same content as paper. Upside: instant arrival by e-mail, easy to study at home. Downside: screens invite skimming. For a significant credit, print it and annotate with a pen.
The BNR's 2024 financial education report, p. 19, points one way: people who print the SECCI and read it for at least 20 minutes make credit choices 31% better (measured as regret rate 12 months after signing). Five minutes on a screen cannot cover 4-6 pages.
Three typical SECCI sheets compared, 2026
In April 2026, simulated SECCI sheets were requested for one client profile from a large bank (BCR), a digitally positioned mid-sized bank (ING) and a reputable NBFI (TBI Bank). Amount: 28,700 lei over 36 months, net income 5,400 lei, estimated score 612. The key fields:
| SECCI field | BCR | ING | TBI Bank |
|---|---|---|---|
| APR | 10.93% | 9.87% | 13.42% |
| Nominal rate | 9.42% | 8.79% | 11.67% |
| Origination fee | 1.8% (517 lei) | 0% | 2.4% (689 lei) |
| Monthly fee | 0.21% | 0.15% | 0.32% |
| Mandatory insurance | optional | no | optional |
| Monthly instalment | 923 lei | 897 lei | 974 lei |
| Total cost of credit | 33,228 lei | 32,292 lei | 35,064 lei |
| 14-day withdrawal right | yes | yes | yes |
The spread between the lowest listed APR (ING) and the highest (TBI): 2,772 lei over the term. Same amount, same client, same period. The saving comes from comparing three fields (APR, origination fee, insurance) across at least 2-3 offers, not from reading one sheet. See the personal loan comparison.
The 14-day window: how it works in practice
Under OUG 50/2010 art. 58, a borrower has 14 calendar days (not working days) from signing to withdraw unilaterally, no reason, no penalty. Only interest on the days of use is owed, at the contract's nominal rate. The right sees little use; many consumers simply don't know it exists.
The procedure: written notice by confirmed e-mail or registered letter, stating expressly that the withdrawal right under OUG 50/2010 art. 58 is exercised. The borrowed sum plus interest for the days of use goes back within 30 days. The lender may charge nothing else; any origination fee already collected must be refunded, per ICCJ Decision 12/2018.
Răzvan's case, BRD, February 2023
Răzvan, 36, an accountant in Iași, signed a 19,400 lei personal loan at BRD on 8 February 2023, at 12.8% APR. Reading the SECCI at home, he saw BT offered 10.4% APR on the same amount and term. On 19 February, day 11 of 14, he sent BRD written notice of withdrawal, processed in 12 days. He returned 19,400 lei plus 11 days of interest (57.40 lei at the 9.82% nominal rate) and signed with BT. Savings over 36 months: 1,380 lei.
The complaints ANPC handles most often
The 2023 ANPC annual report on consumer credit (p. 23-27) lists that year's most frequent complaints: no SECCI before signing (47% of credit complaints), incomplete SECCI information (28%), unclear fees surfacing later (19%), refusal to refund the fee at withdrawal (4%), other causes (2%). All trace back to OUG 50/2010 art. 11 and 58.
ANPC can apply sanctions between 5,000 and 100,000 lei per breach. More useful for the consumer: a complaint can support damages or the annulment of abusive clauses in court, under Law 193/2000 on unfair contract terms.
Maria Popescu, former financial journalist at Ziarul Financiar: “The SECCI is the Romanian consumer's best ally. It is a document the EU designed precisely so that surprises stop happening. But it only works if you use it. Read it, ask about anything unclear, keep a copy. If someone tells you it doesn't matter or that it's just a formality, that person does not have your interests at heart.”