LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Banks and building societies in Britain can offer mortgage customers options to ease the pain of rising interest rates, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday.

"Lenders will be able to offer borrowers a switch to interest-only payments for six months, an extension to their mortgage term to reduce their monthly payments, with the option to switch back within six months. Both can now be offered without an affordability check," the FCA said in a statement. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Susan Fenton)