Fifteen years ago, Swift Money opened for business in Bolton as a credit broker. At the time the company started, in 2011, there was no FCA price cap on short-term lending yet, as the market was then overseen by the Office of Fair Trading. That changed in 2015, four years into Swift Money's operation, when the Financial Conduct Authority took over regulation of the sector. Swift Money has held FCA authorisation, firm reference number 738569, since that point. The company still works with a panel of FCA-authorised lenders today.
Before 2015, short-term credit in the UK carried no fixed limit on how much a lender could charge. The FCA's price cap changed that, setting a maximum daily interest and fee rate of 0.8 percent, a cap on default fees at £15, and a rule that no borrower repays more than twice the amount they originally borrowed. Swift Money said it built its current business model around these rules from the point they came into force, rather than adjusting to them afterward.
Since 2011, the company said it has processed applications from more than one million customers seeking Swift Money loans. Loan amounts through the company's panel range from £100 to £3,000, with repayment terms between 3 and 24 months. Product types include payday loans, structured as fixed monthly instalments for short cash gaps, along with short term loans for larger amounts spread over a longer period.
Applications go through a soft search eligibility check that leaves no mark on a person's credit file. According to Swift Money, most applicants get a decision within a minute of applying. Where an offer is accepted and a lender approves the full application, funds are usually sent through Faster Payments and can arrive within an hour, depending on the receiving bank.
A Swift Money spokesperson said the 15-year mark gives the company a chance to look back at how much the short-term lending market has changed since 2015. Before the reform, the spokesperson said, cost transparency varied widely between lenders, and total repayment amounts were not always capped. Since then, every lender on the Swift Money panel has had to meet the same FCA cost limits, regardless of size or specialism.
Swift Money currently offers five loan categories: payday loans, short term loans, same-day loans, small loans, and bad credit loans, the last of which is aimed at applicants with adverse credit histories such as missed payments or defaults. The company said approval for any of these products depends on an affordability check carried out by the lender and is never guaranteed.
Alongside its loan products, Swift Money maintains a set of guides covering UK credit, debt management and consumer rights. These are reviewed on a 90-day cycle to reflect any changes in FCA rules or wider credit law. The company said the guides are meant to help applicants understand borrowing costs before they apply, not just after.
Swift Money said it continues to work only with lenders that hold FCA authorisation, and that its role remains that of a broker rather than a lender. The company does not issue credit directly and is paid a commission by lenders when a loan is arranged, a structure the company said has not changed since it started operating in 2011.
For anyone facing financial difficulty, Swift Money points applicants toward free advice services such as MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice, StepChange and National Debtline. The company said this guidance is offered regardless of whether someone goes on to apply for a loan.
To put the numbers into context, someone who borrows £500 and repays it over 12 months would pay £56.40 each month under Swift Money's representative example. Total amount repayable comes to £676.86, made up of £176.86 in interest at a fixed annual rate of 59.97 percent. The representative APR is 79.5 percent, variable, with rates across the panel ranging from 48.1 percent APR up to a maximum of 1721 percent APR.
About Swift Money
Set up in Bolton in 2011, Swift Money operates as a UK credit broker rather than a lender. The company holds FCA authorisation under firm reference number 738569 and works with a panel of FCA-authorised lenders to offer short term loans between £100 and £3,000.
Swift Money Limited, Manchester, UK
https://swiftmoney.com/
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