Devon-based start-up Badger Loans has recently launched in the UK offering a loan matching service to help to match borrowers to the best financial products available for them. 

With a lot of criticism currently surrounding the payday industry, Badger Loans was set up as an alternative to the criticised lenders, wanting to break the stigma surrounding payday loans and provide the most relevant, applicable loan products for its borrowers. 

Badger Loans values its friendly and helpful services, and can help users to compare long term loans over a period of 60 and 84 months.   

Who are Badger Loans?

Badger Loans are registered in both England and Wales, and are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. By applying directly through their website, borrowers can apply for unsecured loans of up to £25,000 in the following two forms:

  •  Short term loan – customers could borrow a payday loan of anything from £100 to £5,000 with a repayment period of 2 to 60 months. 
  •  Personal loan – customers could borrow a personal loan of anything from £300 to £25,000 with a repayment period of 3 to 84 months.

Customers also have access guarantor loans for people with bad credit. Badger Loans will never perform a credit check on their applicants, however the potential lender most likely will. Before a potential lender conducts a check, this will be stated clearly to applicants, and will provide the option for them to refuse. 

Addressing the need for alternative products

The launch of Badger Loans comes at an interesting time where high cost lenders are being put under fire by the regulators. The introduction of price caps has tightening margins and lending criteria, creating an even larger group of people needing high cost loans.

In addition to this, the Financial Ombudsman Service is allowing for ex-customers to claim for any loans that lead to financial difficulties – such as those who experienced rollovers, extensions and more than 5 loans. 

The cost for administering each refund adds £500 in administration fees for each lender and with thousands of potential claims, the process has already seen the casualty of high profile lenders Wonga, The Money Shop and QuickQuid.

Badger Loans are fronting the idea of longer term loans, encouraging borrowing over 12, 36, 60 or 84 months and customers can save money if they choose to repay early. 

Elsewhere, new fintech and start-up companies are looking to fill the payday void. Neyber is offering small loans, with financial education in a workplace setting. WageStream is another start-up helping workers access their funds from their wage slip before payday. Both companies have taken the demand and addressed it from an employer’s perspective – and this could be a truly effective alternative to high cost loans.