On 12 February 2026, the Federal Ministry of Justice published a ministerial draft (80/ME) entitled "Consumer Rights Amendment Act 2026 – VerbRÄG 2026". This legislation transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2673 on distance contracts for financial services into Austrian law by integrating the existing Distance Financial Services Act (FernFinG) into the Distance and Off-Premises Contracts Act (FAGG). The FernFinG is set to be repealed with effect from 19 June 2026.

The VerbRÄG 2026 also transposes Directive (EU) 2024/825, which amends Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU with regard to empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information. This aspect is not addressed in detail here.

The new rules are relevant to a broad range of financial institutions, as they shift compliance obligations directly into digital sales processes — most notably through a mandatory withdrawal button for distance contracts concluded online — thereby creating an immediate need for action across the industry.

A detailed overview of the specific changes follows below.

Executive Summary

The draft consolidates the new rules on distance contracts for financial services in a dedicated new section (3a) of the FAGG. It covers pre-contractual information obligations (§ 18a), the consumer's right of withdrawal (§§ 18b and 18c), and the obligation to provide adequate explanations to the consumer (§ 18d).

In addition, a new requirement is introduced in § 13a FAGG for distance contracts concluded via an online user interface — a mandatory online withdrawal button. This requirement is not limited to financial services but applies generally to all distance contracts within the scope of the FAGG.

The key points are as follows:

Pre-Contractual Information Obligations (new § 18a FAGG)

The draft § 18a FAGG largely corresponds to the previously applicable §§ 5 to 7 FernFinG, but introduces a number of modernising changes. The most notable new elements are:

• Contact quality: Traders must now provide not only a postal address but also a telephone number and email address, with all means of communication required to enable prompt contact.
• Complaints contact: Contact details for complaints are now established as a separate, mandatory disclosure item that must be communicated to the consumer prior to conclusion of the contract.
• Supervisory authority: In addition to the name and address of the competent supervisory authority, the authority's website must now also be disclosed.
• Default consequences: For the first time, consumers must be explicitly informed of the specific consequences of payment delay or default.
• Algorithm-based pricing: Where the price offered has been personalised on the basis of automated decision-making, the consumer must be explicitly notified of this.
• Sustainability (ESG): Where environmental or social factors are incorporated into an investment strategy, the related objectives must now be mandatorily disclosed.
• Online withdrawal button: For contracts concluded online, consumers must be informed in advance of the existence and location of the new digital withdrawal function and how to use it.
• Call recording: Where the trader initiates a telephone call that is being, or may be, recorded, the consumer must be explicitly informed of this at the outset of the call.
• Anti-layering: Five key items of information (identity, essential characteristics, total price, additional costs, and right of withdrawal) may no longer be "hidden behind clicks" when provided electronically; they must be accessible on a single, storable and printable level.
• Reminder obligation: Where the mandatory information is provided less than one day before conclusion of the contract, the trader must remind the consumer of their right of withdrawal and the applicable procedure between one and seven days after conclusion.
• Accessibility: Upon request, all pre-contractual information must be provided in an appropriate accessible format — for example, for consumers with visual impairments.
• Burden of proof: The burden of proof for full and timely compliance with all information obligations rests explicitly with the trader, not the consumer. This is a clarification, though it was already the position under general principles.

To avoid duplications or overlaps with the numerous existing sector-specific legal frameworks, the draft provides that the provisions on pre-contractual information obligations, the right of withdrawal, and adequate explanations shall only apply where no rules on these aspects already exist in sector-specific EU legislative acts (or their national implementing measures).

Right of Withdrawal for Financial Services (new §§ 18b and 18c FAGG)

The most significant changes to the right of withdrawal concern the following points:

• Long-stop period: Even where the consumer does not receive the contractual terms and information at all, the withdrawal period will in any event expire twelve months and 14 days after conclusion of the contract. This is intended, per recital 25 of the Directive, to enhance legal certainty. No such absolute maximum period exists under the FernFinG.
• Exception to the long-stop period: The absolute maximum period does not apply, however, where the consumer has not been informed of their right of withdrawal. In that case, the period continues to run without limit — this, too, is a new element.
• Request rather than consent: Performance of the contract during the withdrawal period may only commence upon the consumer's request. Unlike the previous § 8(5) FernFinG, which required the consumer's "express consent", the new formulation is linked to a "request", in order to align with § 18c. In practice, this distinction is unlikely to be of significant consequence.
• Insurance exclusions (clarification): The right of withdrawal continues to be excluded for contracts relating to travel and luggage insurance or similar short-term insurance with a duration of less than one month. This exclusion was already contained in the FernFinG in equivalent terms. New, however, is that non-life insurance contracts concluded at a distance with consumers are now governed by § 18b FAGG, while life insurance contracts continue to be subject to § 5c of the Insurance Contract Act (VersVG).
• Ancillary services (extended scope): Where the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal also extends at no cost to any ancillary service agreement connected with the distance contract, whether provided by the trader itself or by a third party pursuant to an arrangement with the trader. The addition of "at no cost" is new and was not expressly included in the previous wording of § 9 FernFinG.
• Reimbursement period (amended commencement): The consumer must reimburse any amounts received without undue delay and in any event within 30 days of the date of withdrawal. The trader must likewise reimburse without undue delay and in any event within 30 days of receipt of the withdrawal notice.
• Fee reservation (refined condition): The trader may only claim pro-rata remuneration for services already rendered where it has fulfilled its information obligations regarding the right of withdrawal and where the consumer has requested performance of the contract before expiry of the withdrawal period. The FernFinG still referred to the consumer's "express consent"; the new formulation more clearly links the entitlement to a prior active request by the consumer.
• Safety net clause: Where an EU-law-derived provision for specific financial services already includes rules on a right of withdrawal, §§ 18b(1) to (6) of the new FAGG shall not apply; only the rules of that other provision shall govern. This applies equally where a cooling-off period or another alternative to a withdrawal right is provided for. An explicit subsidiarity rule of this kind was entirely absent from the FernFinG.
• Model withdrawal notice in annex (updated): The model withdrawal notice in Annex I of the FAGG is modified in accordance with the requirements of the Directive and now also references the mandatory withdrawal function (withdrawal button) — an integrated model notice of this kind did not exist under the FernFinG regime.

Adequate Explanations & Human-in-the-Loop (new § 18d FAGG)

Prior to conclusion of a contract, traders must provide consumers free of charge with adequate explanations regarding the proposed financial services contracts, so as to enable the consumer to assess whether the proposed contract and any ancillary services meet their needs and financial situation. The explanations must at a minimum cover the required pre-contractual information, the main characteristics of the proposed contract including any ancillary services, and the specific consequences the contract may have for the consumer — including, where relevant, the consequences of payment default or delay. This requirement is new and has no equivalent in the previous provisions of the FernFinG.

Draft § 18d(2) FAGG provides that where online tools are used, consumers must be able to request and obtain human intervention during the pre-contractual phase and, in justified cases, also after conclusion of the distance contract. This is intended to guarantee consumers the right to request human involvement when interacting with a trader via fully automated online interfaces such as chatbots, robo-advisory tools, interactive tools or similar means.

Online Withdrawal Button (new § 13a FAGG)

For all distance contracts concluded via an online user interface — not only those relating to financial services — traders must in future provide the consumer with a clearly visible withdrawal function that remains accessible throughout the entire withdrawal period.

The process is two-step:

• The consumer completes an online withdrawal declaration with their name, contract identification details and preferred means for acknowledgement of receipt, and submits it via a dedicated confirmation button labelled "Confirm withdrawal".
• The trader must promptly transmit to the consumer, on a durable medium, an acknowledgement of receipt containing the content of the withdrawal declaration together with the date and time.

Enforcement & Sanctions

The VerbRÄG 2026 introduces expanded administrative offence provisions. Violations of the obligation to provide the withdrawal button (§ 13a), of the pre-contractual financial information obligations (§ 18a(1)), of the reminder obligation (§ 18a(4)), and of the obligation to provide adequate explanations (§ 18d) are now expressly designated as administrative offences.

Alongside administrative penalties, individual civil law consequences and — in particular — representative actions for the cessation of unlawful practices remain relevant enforcement mechanisms.

Further Timeline

The draft provides for the new provisions — in particular those on distance financial services and the withdrawal button — to enter into force on 19 June 2026. Before then, the full parliamentary legislative process must be completed, taking into account the submissions received during the consultation phase. Minor amendments therefore remain possible.

Urgent Action Required for Financial Institutions

Implementing the new requirements will necessitate extensive organisational and technical adjustments. The integration of a withdrawal button, for example, will require a dedicated development, testing and adaptation phase within IT systems. Given the very short period remaining until the intended date of entry into force, financial institutions face an urgent need to adapt their online customer journeys, contractual documentation, information sheets, internal processes and related materials.

Against this backdrop, the Austrian banking sector's representative body has already raised the possibility of extending the transitional period. Whether this will materialise remains open, as the new rules are required under EU law to be applicable from 19 June 2026.