Last Wednesday we have published our first ever Social Impact Report. One of the main reasons for developing this report was to show the general public and our existing customers that Street UK services are not only needed by many as a source of affordable credit, but also a viable alternative to loan sharks and abusive lenders.
Here are 5 key facts you can find on the Social Impact Report:
68% of our customers have felt intimidated by loan providers in the past, but when it comes to Street UK, 96% of our clients agree that our loan repayment flexibility makes it easier for them to repay. Our repayment flexibility means the customer can align payments with their income, whether they get paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Unlike other lenders, we don’t apply early or late repayment fees and customers only pay interest for the amount of time they had the loan for.
72% of our customers in 2015/2016 were women and 45% of customers were single parents. Although risk of poverty among single parents has fallen over the past decade according to the DWP, debt charity StepChange figures show that single parents are more likely to be on lower incomes, in part time work and live in rented accommodation, making them more vulnerable to debt.
52% of our customers are unemployed, and only 30% employed full time. That is a huge difference from the UK general population, where only 4.9% of the population is unemployed. Many lenders won’t accept unemployed benefits as a form of regular income, and oftentimes these people would be left at the mercy of loan sharks.
1 in 4 of our customers had at least one previous loan with a high cost lender. And 53% would have gone to a high cost lender if Street UK didn’t exist.
A study by the University of Birmingham found that 22% of UK families would need to borrow money to meet a £200 unexpected expense. If a customer takes a £200 loan payable over 3 months with Street UK, the total cost of loan is £39.65. If the same loan is taken with a well known online lender, the cost is over £100. That is £60 more expensive. Figures released by the ONS show that £60 is more than enough to feed an average UK family for a week.
Over 70% of the people we lend to have a past default on their credit file, yet our repaymet rate is 90%. Our customers would likely be considered risky by other credit providers and refused a loan. The high repayment rate is a reflection of how our flexibility accommodates the changing financial circumstances of our clients, making it evident that there is a need for understanding each client situation beyond their credit report.
Want to know more about our Social Impact Report? Get in touch!