Compare Short Term Loans | Short Term Lenders List 2014
Lender Count:
We have identified 25 companies that currently offer short term loans as described above. There was 29, but there has been 4 recent closures.
Market Leader:
Wonga sits at the very top of the tree. They got to the market early when they launched in the year 2007. They were the pioneer in these early days. Around this period, you could only receive monthly loans and they stood forward to offer flexibility to those that used them. As well as allowing the pay date of choice to be selected, another area where they shined was in enabling customers to pick how much they specifically could borrow. Elsewhere, the starting cash sums would typically be £80 or £100. The accessible sums here instead were set in £1 increments starting from just £1. Now you could freely borrow £27 for just 5 days time if you so desired. There were other notable qualities in place. They for instance focussed on technology to generate instant decisions supported by fast online transfers. Their customer service team was setup 24/7 and so they have always been there when the cash was needed. Many alternative lenders close on a Sunday (or even over the complete weekend).
Market Leader Competitors:
The dominance is still in the hands of the major player, but there has naturally been many new companies springing up, looking to imitate their success. A breakthrough in this area requires any given lender to carry a USP that helps to differentiate them. Vivus has been the main lender to shine in this area in offering first time customers with a completely free loan. Sunny is another notable company. They offer one of the cheapest sector rates, they allow their customers to repay funds between 3 days and 5 months and they offer future loyalty discounts when repayments are made on time. In recent years we have also witnessed the emergence of the text loan whereby you can apply with a simple text message. MyJar is noteworthy here since their customers can simply request more funds once an existing loan has been repaid and the cash will be automatically wired. One of the main areas where Wonga has been beaten is in pricing.
Pricing (Compare Short Term Loans):
You can Compare the Top Rates Here. This post identifies the cheapest available rates in the UK. One important point is that the rates headed will change across the entire market when the FCA cap is enforced in January 2015. From this point onwards, only 0.8% daily can be charged as a total cost. For £100 taken over 7 days this means that the total charge can be £5.60. Most lenders charge between £7 and £12 for this example. This shows that big changes will have to be made for companies to become compliant when the cap comes. As it stands in the later stages of 2014, the leading prices available for a £100 weekly loan are as follows.
1) Vivus = £0 (new customers only)
2) VarioLoans = £4.55
3) WagedayXpress = £5.25
4) Reddies Direct = £6.52
5) Sunny = £6.76
Primary Product Benefits:
If you are struggling for cash and are being paid in 9 days time then most of the lenders allow you to borrow funds for this exact period. You would only be charged for these 9 days that is advantageous over taking out a Payday Loan where you would commonly be billed for a complete month. Overdrafts are the common route to access extra financial support over shorter terms, but the banks aren’t typically willing to help you out if you have a bad credit score. You are much more likely to be granted acceptance through the featured companies. Another benefit as noted above is that their sites are always developed well and so you can usually do such things with ease as repaying early or requesting an extension.
Primary Product Limitations:
Most firms have tended to focus on speed in this niche that means that they commonly transfer speedy funding through the Faster Payments Service. Whilst FPS payments are free in personal banking, businesses have to pay for using this system. Due to this, the cost is usually passed on to the customer sitting between £5 and £6. Whilst interest is usually charged at 1% per day, this extra fee really hikes up the charges, especially when you are borrowing for a short time. This service limitation will of course be eradicated by the FCA cap when the maximum charge will become 0.8% daily (including transfer fees).
Requirements (Eligibility):
The eligibility requirements here are mirrored to payday products. You would have to be a UK resident aged at 18 currently in employment. The required pay income does vary, but £750 has generally been the average quoted figure over the years. Bad credit is still considered, but poor credit (CCJs, several defaults etc) would likely be declined.
Short Term Lenders List 2014:
We have grouped all of the lenders below by web popularity. Each company is alphabetically sorted within each such grouping. Group A = (the 5 most well known), B = (the next 10 most well known) and C = (the 10 least well known). Below these you will also spot the ~ Closed ~ section. This highlights any brands within this niche that recently ceased trading.
Group A:
MiniCredit.co.uk
MyJar.com
Peachy.co.uk
Sunny.co.uk
Wonga.com
Group B:
BongaLoans.com
ClearAccount.com
Ferratum.co.uk
MobileQuid.com
PiggyBank.co.uk
PixieLoans.com
Quid24.com
ReddiesDirect.co.uk
SquareMoney.com
Vivus.co.uk
Group C:
100Pounds.co.uk
CashAccess.co.uk
CashASAP.co.uk
FullPocket.co.uk
MiniCashLoans.co.uk
NextCredit.co.uk
PaydayAid.co.uk
VarioLoans.com
WagedayXpress.com
YorkshireCash.co.uk
~ Closed ~
CashBob.co.uk
CashCafe.com
Instacredit.co.uk
LifeboatLoans.co.uk
This page is frequently updated.
