By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GEELONG has become a key battleground in the fight against unscrupulous payday lenders with the expansion of a program offering a fairer alternative.
The region has one of three Good Money stores in Victoria because of its growing population and high number low-income earners.
“Geelong was an obvious choice for Good Money,” said national manager Andrew Knight.
The last state budget allocated $7.2 million over four years to support Good Money in Geelong, Collingwood and Dandenong. A first of its kind in Australia, Good Money provides no or low-interest loans to battlers.
Mr Knight said competing with payday lenders was difficult because Good Money was unable to similarly advertise.
“The fringe lenders are very good at what they do. They have well-oiled systems that make it relatively easy and quick to access what ends up being the highest finance cost in Australia for clients living on some of the lowest incomes,” he said.
“The industry’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year and clients never realise the amount of issues they have once they fall behind on repayments.”
Mr Knight said Good Money had helped almost 4000 Geelong clients, with many turning to the service to escape payday lenders.
“Coming along and having a confidential financial conversation within us is breath of fresh air for most clients, because everything we do is transparent.
“There are also a number of other services we can refer clients to , such as financial counsellors in our stores
“It can be life-changing conversation.”
