David Barclay, the Centre’s Faith in Public Life Officer blogs about the recent day of action he co-ordinated for the Just Money Campaign.
Just Money is a joint initiative of CTC and Citizens UK which seeks to make financial institutions work better for our communities.
On 1st July every year in Trafalgar Square in central London, there’s a big celebration of Canada Day. But this year, it was a memorable day for groups elsewhere as well. Students, churchgoers and other members of Citizens UK came together to take action on the payday lending problems blighting their communities.
On the same day as the Government held a summit on whether the UK needs more regulation of the payday sector, the Just Money campaign was out in force in Bethnal Green, Brixton, East Ham and Nottingham to point to Canada as an example to follow.
The Bethnal Green Team
Our research had found that in Canada payday lenders operate under a strict Code of Practice, which forbids them from extending people’s loans (known as ‘rolling over’) and from selling individuals multiple loans. The Code also stipulates that there should be information available in stores about free debt advice and money management support. Some companies in the UK, like The Money Shop, also operate in Canada where they happily abide by these rules.
