Ian Guider: Moneylending doesn’t need a revamp, it needs to be replaced

New laws around ‘high-cost credit’ will be useful, but even better would be creating ways to bring those who have no other options than moneylenders into mainstream finance

It’s an awful indictment that, in 2021, we still have quite a number of citizens who are still outside the mainstream financial system, dependent on short-term, high-cost finance.

At the end of June, Provident Financial, the British-based doorstep lender, left a parting gift to its Irish customers. The company wrote off all of the estimated €21 million of loans still owed to it by thousands of borrowers.

Most of the outstanding balances were for under €500, but for those with loans above that, the extra benefit was the decision to clear their credit histories. It’s small change for Provident in the context of ...