Dealers who do not have SAF (Specialist Automotive Finance) or equivalent approval in 2025 will be unable to offer finance through any lender who is a Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) member and complies with the FLA’s Lending Code, of which Tandem is one.
That is the warning from Tandem Motor Finance whose sales Director Dave Anderson, said dealers need to know the state of play.
“From January, all dealers must be SAF Approved (or equivalent) for us or any FLA member to continue working with them.
“Franchised dealers must already comply with this standard, and independent dealers must now follow their lead. I’m afraid there will be no extensions or exemptions.
Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) provides knowledge-based motor finance learning to boost professionalism and increase consumer confidence in motor finance.
Launched by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) in 2007, over 36,000 dealer staff have registered for SAF qualification.
To register a dealership and its team members, Go to the SAF website here
Once a dealership has registered, team members must study the training material, sit the 60-question, 60-minute online test, achieve the 75% pass mark and re-take the test annually to maintain their competence.
Anderson added: “Being SAF approved will allow a dealer to continue offering finance. It will also enhance a dealer’s professional status and help ensure team member awareness of compliance and regulation, which should help protect the business.”
