Scotcash Annual Report 2021-22 - Report - Page 3
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Contents
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08 |
11 |
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Page 2
21 |
Foreword
Chair’s welcome and CEO’s comments
06 |
Exploitative lending destroys people’s health, wellbeing and lives.
The first time I visited Scotcash, which offers ethical and affordable
finance to people on low and fluctuating incomes, I was fighting bad
actors in consumer credit.
The role of affordable credit
in the pandemic
The pandemic has made dayto-day living harder for many for
whom life was already tough
enough. More and more people
and families, especially in
households with lower incomes,
have struggled to pay for things
that are essential. There was a
jump of a third, to over 14 million,
in the number of people with low
financial resilience between March
and October 2020.
Q&A with Maggie Craig, The FCA
10 |
Praise and partnerships
IT, systems and working from home
12 |
Scotcash facts and figures
2020/21
14 |
Scotcash staff stories
Mary’s story
Auditor’s report
20 |
Balance sheet
I wanted to knock out predatory
high-cost lenders who were
trying to make lots of money from
other people’s difficulties. And I
was determined to champion fair
alternatives like Scotcash and other
community development finance
institutions.
Since my first visit some wellknown high-cost lenders have left
the market because of tougher
regulation and a crack-down on
miss-selling. But we mustn’t think
the fight is won just because we’ve
started to tackle some of the worst
offenders.
They can manage their money
expertly, to the penny, as you
will hear from Scotcash’s chief
executive Sharon MacPherson
in this report. But sometimes
when people face a sudden large
expense like a washing machine
breakdown or an expensive car
repair, they may need to use credit.
The last thing they need is to be
exploited.
Scotcash works with customers to
make their financial circumstances
better. This report shows how. It is
a social enterprise, not an extractor
of profit from people who pay the
“poverty premium” for many goods
and services. It offered payment
holidays during the pandemic, well
before lenders were instructed to.
Its staff got on the phone to talk
with customers about their specific
circumstances. It distributed
hardship grants and signposted tax
credits and other relevant benefits
to people made redundant during
the crisis.
This had an enormous impact.
Some customers describe it as
a lifeline. Every pound Scotcash
saves for people helps their
money go further: for food,
clothes, household essentials
or savings. As more and more
people are ineligible for credit from
mainstream providers, we must
continue to fight for finance that is
fair.
Michael Sheen
Activist and Actor
Company information
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