25/07/2013

Church Of England Go Into Business Against Wonga

The Church of England is set to go to battle with online payday loan company Wonga.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Reverend Justin Welby, has announced a plan for the CoE to expand credit unions as an alternative to payday loan vendors.

Payday loan companies have been accused of creating more debt through their use of short-term high-interest loans.

Archbishop Welby is a former financier who also sits on the board of the Parlimentary Commission on Banking Standards. He previously lobbied for a cap on how much interest loan companies could charge.

Speaking to Total Politics magazine, Welby said: "I've met the head of Wonga, and we had a very good conversation.

"I said to him quite bluntly that 'we're not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence; we're trying to compete you out of existence'."

(MH/CD)

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