Thursday, December 8, 2016

Online Payday Loans and How they have Changed

Online payday loans have been available for many years now. In reality, online payday loans were actually launched in the early 1990’s and as such have become an established form of borrowing for many millions of consumers during this time. The online nature of such loans means unlike many other forms of borrowing, which later followed their lead, provide an ability to access funds in what is potentially a very short and therefore effective period. Whilst clearly these loans are widely known and used, this is not to say these loans have not had to adapt and change as the years have continued to pass. In more recent years specifically online payday loans have been subject to much change, in terms of both their product and service and this is largely thanks to the new regulator, introduced in 2014. The regulator in question is the Financial Conduct Authority and since this date they have governed all practices of online payday loans and their lenders.
Online Payday Loans
Online Payday Loans

For many years and before the introduction of the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), online payday loans were offered in a very specific manner which ultimately became their biggest driver for change. As many of us will be aware this product was that of the payday loan. The payday loan offered a very simple repayment structure which saw customers of the product agree to repay their entire loan on their next and forthcoming employment pay date. There was no specific alternative to this repayment offer and that meant whether borrowing for 5 days or 35, the full repayment would be due. Whilst undoubtedly payday loans could support the needs of customers adequately for many years, increasingly it became clear that this model of borrowing was somewhat restricted and did not provide the flexibility which was needed when it came to repayment options.

When the FCA were introduced this fact soon came to live and a 2-year long process was started which would change the online payday loans market place forever. Whereas lenders had become comfortable offering only one type of repayment option, the reality was for many customers it simply wasn’t suitable. Through research of how lenders operated and how they loan applications were approved, the FCA could introduce new practices and guidelines as to how best to treat customers. This meant changing not only the product but also the service. Nowadays many online payday loans lenders have moved away from the payday loan model of lending money and instead offer loans via the means of instalment repayments. This means instead of having to repay the entire amount borrowed as a one-off repayment, there are options for repayment which are available over several pre-agreed months. In the modern day, online payday loans market this could mean anything from the classic single instalment right through to 12 monthly repayments. Where longer terms are selected the total amount repayable will increase so this should always be considered along with all other factors. 

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