Scotcash Annual Report 2021-22 - Report - Page 9
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Finance
that’s fair for
consumers
The Financial Conduct Authority’s aim is to make financial
markets work well so that consumers get a fair deal. What does
that mean for Maggie Craig, Head of the FCA’s Scotland office?
Maggie, what does
your role involve?
How did you first get
to know Scotcash?
My team and I work with the
Scottish financial services
community to represent the FCA
in Scotland, and Scotland within
the FCA. That includes banks,
community development finance
institutions and credit unions; we
do lots of work with academics and
consumer organisations too.
Through our work with consumers.
Our Financial Lives Survey
shows the number of consumers
exhibiting characteristics of what
we call financial vulnerability is
high in Scotland. My dealings with
Scotcash have been around how
it fits into the consumer space,
particularly in what some people
call the “hard to reach” market.
Many firms find that market hard to
serve well.
Financial services touches
everyone and I love the variety of
my job and that I get to meet such
an amazing spectrum of people,
from Cabinet Secretaries to
vulnerable customers.
It’s all about effective competition
in consumers’ interests. Sometimes
people position it as a battle
between types of provider and it’s
not – in fact, the pandemic showed
how providers across the industry,
Government and we as regulator
were able to do incredible work
together to change policy and
create interventions in the interests
of customers. I’m really proud of
that.
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Many people who’ve never
navigated the system before could
find themselves with problem debt
for the first time and we need to
ensure those giving advice are
properly authorised and behaving
as they should.
Will innovation be
in consumers’ or
providers’ interests
and are you excited
about the future?
The FCA’s data shows
a big increase in
financial vulnerability.
How worried are
you about this and
the impact of the
pandemic?
We’re keen to encourage
innovation that’s good for
consumers. Open Banking, for
example, has made it easier to
give appropriate, personalised
debt advice to many people, or
for lenders to assess affordability.
It excites me when firms look at
technology and do something
good for people with it.
There’s been an increase and it’s
hard to know how it will play out
as Government support schemes
wind down. We can expect a
big rise in the need for debt
advice, and that advice must be in
consumers’ best interests.
We’re supportive of digital-first
approaches as long as they don’t
mean “customer last” and we know
that organisations like Scotcash will
continue to make a huge effort to
get to know and understand their
customers.
And we’re looking at how our
consumer duty fits with the journey
to net zero in a way that’s good for
ordinary people. Everything we do
is about a demonstrable benefit for
people.
What advice would
you give to someone
considering a career
in the financial
industry?
Don’t assume it is as maledominated as it used to be. There’s
been progress, though we need
there to be more progress on all
aspects of diversity. Don’t assume
you have to be good at Excel
spreadsheets – my team will tell
you I’m certainly not. And whatever
you do in this industry have the
customer in your head.
I’m lucky: I have a good job. But
I’ve never forgotten the ice on
the inside of the kitchen window
when I was growing up in Govan.
And I remember being very angry
with someone who couldn’t
understand what a big deal it was
for a customer to lose £40 from
their account. That cornerstone
of knowing your customer and
earning their trust is vital.
That of course is a real strength of
the alternative credit sector, credit
unions and CDFIs like Scotcash
– they build relationships with
customers, and customers feel they
can talk with them.
“The alternative
credit sector,
credit unions
and CDFIs like
Scotcash build
relationships
with customers,
and customers
feel they can talk
with them.”
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