Whilst buy-now pay-later have become a popular payment method for thousands of consumers shopping online, there have been anxieties and increasing debt concerns when having to pay monthly installments. Payments through buy-now-pay-later reached £2.7bn in 2020 alone (The Guardian).

With the first set of children with Child Trust Funds due to turn 18 on 1st September, many teenagers are set to miss out on their Child Trust Fund money which has been accumulating interest for nearly two decades. HMRC estimates that over 700,000 of the Child Trust Fund accounts originally set up have been ‘lost’ or forgotten about, meaning a significant amount of the money provided by the government will remain unclaimed.

At the Just Finance Foundation, we are on a mission to:

1) Ensure everyone is reunited with the money in their CTF

2) Ensure that CTFs are used wisely in this difficult financial climate

In the UK we are experiencing a period of uncertainty. With precarious incomes, ever-rising housing costs and unprecedented levels of indebtedness, distress, as a direct and indirect result of money, is epidemic across the UK. Currently, 11.5 million people in the UK have less than £100 in savings and nearly nine million of us are in serious debt (FinCap 2019). Yet money and personal finances can often be a taboo subject.  

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced a proposed price cap on rent to own firms. Subject to consultation this will come into force on 1st April 2019.

The Church Times (7/9/18) reports on reactions from campaigners to the demise of Wonga including Frank Field MP, Citizens UK and JFF. 

One man’s mission needs to become a movement, says Rowena Young.

Regulation alone is not enough, says Hector Sants — and there is a crucial part for the Churches to play.