Credit: Interest Rates

(asked on 26th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the harm caused by high interest payday loans.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 4th March 2019

On 1 April 2014, regulation of the consumer credit market, including payday lenders, was transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers and to take action against firms and individuals that do not meet its standards.

The government legislated to require the FCA to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans, which came into force on 2 January 2015. The FCA published a feedback statement in July 2017, showing that the price cap has been effective, leading to savings of approximately £150 million for 760,000 individuals using payday loans each year.

At Autumn Budget 2018 the Government announced a package of measures to help low income consumers access safe, affordable and sustainable credit.

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