Instant Cash Loans Ltd, a company which owns and operates more than 400 instant cash loan shops, aims to open another location in London , on Tower Bridge Road.
Southwark Council received the planning application from the cash loans provider trading as The Money Shop for turning 82 Tower Bridge Road, the site of a former amusement arcade, into a new storefront where it will also offer foreign currency exchange, money transfer, and cheque-cashing services. The Money Shop’s application says that it has the expectation that its new site, if approved, will most likely generate around 100 transactions on any given day, with Fridays to most likely come in at around 250 transactions, with the last Friday of every month possibly attracting in excess of 300 customers.
Jackie Doyle-Price, Conservative MP for Thurrock, mentioned the Money Shop recently in the House of Commons, telling MPs that the company offers loans with a charge of less than £10 for every £100 borrowed, calling the deal a ‘reasonable’ one provided borrowers can pay back the cash on time, as exceeding the time limit can result in spiraling costs. However, other MPs, such as those Labour representatives for Lambeth and Southwark, have been campaigning much more strongly to placing more limitation on instant cash loan providers, as Southwark Council leader, Cllr Peter John, called lending of that kind both financially and socially irresponsible, referring to it as a ‘scourge’ on the community.
Cllr John also said that Southwark streets are altogether too thick with these instant cash loan providers, calling for alternatives to these loans be made more readily available to the council’s residents. However, Val Shawcross, London Assembly member, pointed out that alternatives are thin on the ground, especially as High Street banks have traditionally left lower and middle income Brits out in the cold when it comes to access to affordable credit.