In another sign prices are growing too fast for household incomes, credit card interest bills are climbing consistently for the first time in nearly four years.
Cash Converters, which charges borrowers an annual interest of 48 per cent, says the remarkable growth of its loan book in 2021 was mostly due to a better online effort and success in getting people aged under-40 interested in borrowing from the company., which has campaigned for years for a better deal for borrowers, says spiralling costs of essentials are forcing families to take on risky loans or buy-now-pay-later debts that plunge them into deeper financial strife.
“Anyone who is getting a payday loan is likely to be experiencing financial distress – given the high cost of the loans, people only choose these out of desperation when they can’t meet an expense,” Mr Brody said.“Often, these are essential expenses like household bills and utilities, and even food. The problem with payday loans is that they tend to make the person’s situation worse.
Counsellors have told the peak body there’s a growing trend of families buying supermarket gift vouchers with buy-now-pay-later products and using them for food and other essentials.showed 38 per cent of Australian consumers would use pay-later apps for household bills, 37 per cent for groceries and 27 per cent for petrol.
“This data suggests people are increasingly relying on credit for basic expenses, which is worrying from a financial distress perspective,” Mr Brody said.
We did it everyone! We became American
Afterpay are scumbags