Crowdfunding and Consumer Credit Protection in the EU

In the last 15 years, the crowdfunding has concerned consumers, both in the role of crowd-investors and, in the role of crowd-borrowers (project-owner). However, the Regulation (EU) 1503/2020 (‘ECSPR’) excludes consumer borrowers from that scope and include only consumer investors, leaving the consumer protection to the Consumer Credit Directive 2008/48/UE (‘CCD’). Nevertheless, the CCD poses applicability problems to crowdfunding. Consequently, the solution arises a risk for consumers protection. The CCD-review process intends to address this shortcoming, but weaknesses in the proposal are still present. From this perspective, the chapter in the first part examines the choice made in ECSPR and the applicability issue posed by the CCD, underlying the need of a trade-off between consumer protection and the development of this new type of financial service. Finally, the chapter analyses the adequacy of the solutions proposed in the CCD-Review process, highlighting the possibilities of further regulatory interventions in the field.