Guardian: The archbishop of Canterbury has told Wonga that the Church of England wants to “compete” it out of existence as part of its plans to expand credit unions as an alternative to payday lenders.
The Most Rev Justin Welby said he had delivered the message to Errol Damelin, the chief executive of Britain’s best-known payday lender, during a “very good conversation”.
“I said to him quite bluntly ‘we’re not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we’re trying to compete you out of existence’,” he told Total Politics magazine.
The payday lending industry has been one of the fastest growing sectors during the recession, as stretched consumers have turned to short-term loans to get them through to the next wage packet.
However, critics of the £2bn a year industry have accused lenders of targeting vulnerable borrowers with small loans which quickly spiral into big debts as a result of high interest rates and fees.
Categories: Europe