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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23433955

Well, not sure CoE on front of his shirt will appeal any more than Wonga

 

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned the online lender Wonga that the Church of England plans to force it out of business - by competing against it.

The Most Rev Justin Welby told Wonga boss Errol Damelin the Church planned to do this by expanding credit unions as an alternative to payday lenders.

The plan is to create "credit unions that are both engaged in their communities", he said.

Mr Damelin said he was "all for better consumer choice".

'Took it well'
Payday firms offer short-term loans, often at high interest rates, and have been accused of leading people into more debt.

Archbishop Welby, a former financier who sits on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, has previously lobbied for a cap on high interest rates charged by loan companies.

He said the Church could do more to help non-profit lenders to compete with payday firms.

"I've met the head of Wonga, and we had a very good conversation," the archbishop told Total Politics magazine.

"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'."

He said of Mr Damelin's response: "He's a businessman; he took that well."

Mr Damelin later said: "There is mutual respect, some differing opinions and a meeting of minds on many big issues.

"On the competition point, we always welcome fresh approaches that give people a fuller set of alternatives to solve their financial challenges. I'm all for better consumer choice."

New unions
Earlier this month, Archbishop Welby launched a new credit union aimed at clergy and church staff. Credit unions charge their members low rates of interest to borrow money.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the archbishop's plan was to go to some of the 500 independent loan companies and say to them, "We will help you by letting you have access to our buildings and expertise".

Our correspondent said the Church would not run the companies but would help them and allow them to work on its premises.

"I think the archbishop would see this as a social good countering a social evil," he said.

He also said it was quite possible that in future people could go to church when they needed to borrow money.

"Churches are already being used as libraries and shops and post offices. It's part of a wider trend for churches to try and become more relevant to people's everyday lives."

'Irresponsible lending'
In April the government announced an investment of £38m in credit unions, to help them offer an alternative to pay-day lenders.

Wonga has said it charges about 1% a day on its consumer loans, which are short term, and for small amounts.

An investigation into the payday loan industry by its regulator found widespread irresponsible lending earlier this year.

The industry, worth £2bn, was later referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading.

At an industry summit in Whitehall last month lenders were told they could face tighter controls, including limits on the number of loans that can be taken out and a cap on the total cost of credit.

The measures will be considered by the Financial Conduct Authority, which formally takes over regulation of the industry from next April.

What do you think of Church plans to 'compete' with payday firms? Have you taken out a payday loan before? If so, what was your experience like? You get in touch using the form below.

 

I hope you got your sponsorship money in one payment lads. It's not going to be difficult to compete them out. Especially with interest designed for the borrower and not the lender.

 

Witty response..a lot of football sponsors are not lily White, whether alcohol, betting or dodgy oil companies hiding behind a charity. However firms like Wonga crave respectability whilst their underlying business model is exploitation of the least well off..they may be a step too far for a club whose supporters many of whom are not well off themselves.

 

Playing Poker for a living, ethics is a hazy subject for me........

 

why now ????


the church is one of the wealthiest organisations in the country

for 100's of years people have been paying into the church with very little return

 

Good luck to the CofE. They might as well add money lending to their list of sins.

 

I do horse racing for a living. Ethics is not laying a non-trier as far as I am concerned.

Punting is no different to, say, insurance broking or reselling, it's all betting or laying that Event W will/won't happen. Each time I renew my house insurance, which is a personal choice (i.e. not required by law) I am betting that the contents will be destroyed in that coming calendar year.

Your and mine trades are no different; we're just working on the margins on offer between value and price.

 

Rod and Todd Flanders to be their bailiffs i heard

 

ha ha!

 

cash machines by the pulpit next.
draw a little and give a little at the same time.

 

With Church attendances dwindling, they have to make money from somewhere...

I can't wait for the advertising campaign!

 

Er, oops

 

Hilarious. Worrying, but hilarious. You just can't make it up. Does Mike Ashley run the the CofE too?

REP!

 

I saw this last night. Just top class. The church lurches into yet another dodgy looking episode <shocker>