The sub-prime lending industry is a growing market consisting of alternative financial institutions servicing the under-banked community. Payday loan providers make up strong contingency in the industry, offering short-term, high-risk loans to customers in need of small amounts of money quickly, often with poor credit scores.
Payday lenders first sprung up in the United States in the early 1990s, with only about 200 storefronts dotted around major metro centers. Today, over 22,000 locations serve both urban and rural areas and draw clients from a broad range of demographics. Growth rate in the industry remains steady at about 20% annually.
The online segment of the industry revolutionised the market about three years ago and has shown even faster growth than its Brick & Mortar counterpart. The ease-of-use, speed-of-funding and benefit of privacy have been shown to appeal to payday customers and allowed web-based firms to take a foothold in the sub-prime lending market.
It took little time for both online and Brick & Mortar enterprises to take root in the UK as well, offering the same easy, short-term lending options that originated in the States. Several factors made payday lending an even better fit for UK consumers. For one, UK lenders only have to follow one set of regulations for the entire Commonwealth - whereas in the US, different laws and regulations must be followed for each state. Consumer habits also were a good fit for UK lenders, as most employees are paid monthly rather than bi-weekly, leading to a higher demand for short-term financing options on a regular basis.QuickQuid has been one of the leaders of the UK market through a secure, speedy and customer-friendly lending approach. As a sister company of CashNetUSA - America's leading licensed online lender - and a subsidiary of the publicly-held Cash America Intl. Inc. (NYSE: CSH), QuickQuid is dedicated to only the most responsible lending practices.
Although payday lending is a relatively young product in the UK, QuickQuid has already established itself as one of the premier financial providers. As marketing and consumer understanding continue to improve, the company hopes to see continued growth in the UK and for its international partners.
