It’s a sad fact of life that many working people find it hard to get by financially. Wages which have been kept low through years of austerity, combined with inflation, can make it difficult even for people with more than one job to find the money for everything they need. The low income loans provided by PCCU mean that being paid a low wage doesn’t have to mean that you and your family have to go without.

Many years ago, it was assumed that only unemployed people were genuinely short of money. The rise of insecure, ‘gig economy’ jobs, however, combined with low wages across many parts of the public sector, mean that being in work is no longer a guarantee of having enough money to get by. This can lead to hardship, mental health problems and social exclusion, for both the employees themselves and their families. Our low income loans are intended to stop that happening.

If you’re earning a low income there’s a chance you might have a less than perfect credit history, something which can actually be caused simply because you’ve never felt able to take out a loan or make use of credit. All too often this means that the only low income loans available are those offered by doorstep or pay day lenders. These are loans which are provided with extremely high interest rates, and often also come with hidden fees or payments. We don’t see why someone earning a low income should be punished in this manner, so we offer low income loans in a fair and ethical way.

We can do this because we’re a not for profit organisation. We’re owned by our  account holders, so any money we do make is used to improve the services we provide or boost the local economy. This means that we can keep our interest rates as low as possible, and offer low income loans with affordable repayment plans. It also means we don’t include any hidden fees or charges, and the interest rates we advertise are offered to all account holders, no matter how low their income is.

We know our account holders on a one to one basis so we understand why they might need to borrow money and exactly how they can afford to pay it back. We won’t set up a payment plan if we don’t think you can meet it, and we try to deal with every application as quickly as possible. Once you’ve provided the information we need, we’ll make a decision within 24 working hours, or even the very next day of possible. If we approve the loan, the money will be paid straight into your bank account, leaving you free to spend it however you want to.

Our low income loans are designed to help people make their way out of the debt spiral of high interest loans with repayments that leave them needing to have to borrow more. We believe that people on low incomes deserve financial help just as much, if not more, than anyone else, and we work to make sure they get it.