No Interest Loan Scheme hits £10m lending milestone
Today Fair4All Finance announces hitting a £10m milestone in the provision of affordable credit to people in financially vulnerable circumstances through the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot.
This means that £10m of new credit has been made available and is being lent to people in financially vulnerable circumstances who, without this intervention, would have otherwise been declined and at greater risk of turning to illegal moneylenders.
We anticipate that across the seven lenders operating in Great Britain, we will see more than 14,000 loans issued by the end of August, with potential for many more.
Fair4All Finance is committed to developing the market to consistently provide products that better respond to people’s needs and support their financial wellbeing.
In the right circumstances, access to a small sum of money which is responsibly lent, can be a lifeline for people across the country helping them smooth their incomes, weather financial storms and provide a stepping stone to building better financial resilience – and this pilot scheme is helping people do just that.
‘This is a fantastic milestone in widening access to affordable credit. At Fair4All Finance we know the positive difference that access to affordable and responsible credit can make to people in financially vulnerable circumstances.
Through the No Interest Loan Scheme we’ve made available £10m over 13,175 loans in additional credit provision to people who would have otherwise been declined.
The independent interim evaluation is illustrating the positive impacts this can have and our testing with lenders has spanned multiple geographies and business models.
This milestone is a great step forward in building and making the case for vital and innovative financial support infrastructure for people in some of the most financially vulnerable circumstances.
I’d like to thank all the lenders who are taking part in the pilot, HM Treasury and the Devolved Administrations, JPMorgan Chase, and Fair By Design and Toynbee Hall for their pivotal role in developing the scheme.’
Kate Pender, Deputy CEO at Fair4All Finance
‘As a founding partner of this pilot, Fair By Design is delighted that the No Interest Loan Scheme has now lent out over £10m. Thousands of people have been lent a much needed but small amount of money and have completely avoided the poverty premium that so many people face when accessing credit. We look forward to seeing the full results from this pilot and ensuring that even more people on low-incomes can get hold of credit when they need it in future.’
Martin Coppack, Director of Fair By Design
‘We developed the UK NILS pilot because we knew from evidence overseas that, done well, a no-interest loan for people denied access to affordable credit could be transformational. So it’s fantastic that behind this incredible first £10 million of lending milestone there are so many changed lives and I’m excited to see how we can grow the scheme to reach more people who would benefit from a NILS loan.’
Sian Williams, CEO at Switchback
You can read more about the NILS pilot and it’s impact in the independent PwC interim impact evaluation.
This increase in available affordable credit has been made possible thanks to the efforts of seven lenders, funding from HM Treasury, JPMorgan Chase, the Scottish and Welsh Devolved Administrations, and the continued support of Toynbee hall and Fair by Design who worked with us to develop this pilot.