Payday Lenders and Health on the High Street

A recent survey conducted by the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) has suggested that certain businesses are bad for the nation’s health, and one of those mentioned was high street payday lenders.

The report, released in March of this year, found that where you find betting shops, tanning salons, payday lenders and fast food restaurants, you find unhealthy people. It then went on to suggest that this positive correlation meant that simply having these shops on the high street makes people unhealthy.

Just think about this for a moment.

Would the placing of expensive ‘healthy’ food shops on high streets make the population healthier? The answer to this question, most likely, is no. The reason that expensive food shops aren’t present on the majority of town and city high streets is probably down to the fact that the local customers can’t afford to shop in these kinds of places.

In the same vein, would swapping the payday lenders present on these highstreets for prime credit lenders (who won’t lend to people with bad credit histories) improve the local population’s credit record? Again, the answer is no. Doing this will just mean that those with poor credit histories have to look elsewhere.

However, the RSPH is now calling on the Government to introduce a range of measures to make highstreets more ‘health promoting’, including giving local authorities greater planning powers to prevent the proliferation of betting shops, payday lenders and fast food outlets. At FairMoney™, we believe that seeking such measures displays a fundamental ignorance of the problems faced by people in these areas.

The Necessity of Payday Loans for Bad Credit 

People in financial difficulties and under high levels of stress are prone to act impulsively, without thinking, and here at FairMoney™ we believe it is unfair business practice to take advantage of this. In fact, we believe that it is this, rather than the existence of the businesses themselves, that is bad for the nation’s health.

That’s why we at FairMoney™ believe that working with businesses in ‘unhealthy’ areas, in an effort to help them improve the quality of the products and services that they offer, is the answer.

We want to help our customers access finances in a sustainable manner, so to do this, we’ve made a real effort to understand them and their needs, and built a framework around this knowledge. It is our hope, that with our help, people in financial difficulties will be able to make informed, considered decisions, with the aim of building and maintaining a healthy credit record.

FairMoney™ - A Disruptive Force in the Payday Lending Industry

At FairMoney™:

• We understand that nearly half the UK population has less than £300 in savings and 20% of the UK has no savings whatsoever.
• We ask the customers to think about what they need a loan for, how much can they afford and show them the different options available to them.
• We require all members of our lending panel to commit to a level of transparency and fairness that exceeds all current and proposed regulation.
• We work with regulators and lenders to ensure that customers, regardless of their credit histories, get the best information and service possible according to the customer’s circumstances.

FairMoney™

At FairMoney™, we accept that while for many people getting credit is unpredictable and expensive, it is often still necessary. We don’t apologise for or excuse the consumer’s need for short-term credit, simply work hard to ensure that the process of accessing it is fairer for the customer.

So, if you’re looking for a loan but have struggled to find fair finance in the past, look no further. Enter your details here and our Smart Search Technology will match you to the right loan for your credit profile.