St Vincent de Paul is calling for urgent steps to ensure the poorest households have options besides turning to other high-interest or illegal lenders, and to protect them from the increasing costs of living. It operated a house-to-house service, where cash was dispensed and collected at people’s front doors, and charged annual interest rates upwards of 186 per cent. It wrote off €21.3 million in outstanding loans, mainly with low-income households, as of the end of December 2020. Provident, formerly the largest moneylender in the Irish market, stopped lending and collecting repayments here at the end of June.
Low-income families may turn to illegal moneylenders in bigger numbers than ever this Christmas following the departure of licensed lender Provident from the Irish market, the Society of St Vincent de Paul has warned.Ī new survey for the charity finds Christmas was the most common reason for which most users of Provident turned to the high-interest lender, and while indications are that most are not, so far, turning to illegal lenders, there is a “real concern” that there could be a surge towards this form of credit in coming weeks, the charity said.Ĭompounding the worry is the spiralling cost of living, including in the areas of rent, energy and food.
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