Moneyline

About us

Moneyline Yorkshire (IPS) Limited (Moneyline) was established in June 2004 as a not-for-profit company limited by shares and registered as an Industrial & Provident Society, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Moneyline started trading in Sheffield in October 2004 and has been a recipient of Sheffield Bond support in previous years.

What we do

Moneyline lends money to high risk borrowers who are not able to access loans from conventional lenders (i.e. the high street banks and credit card companies) and are generally referred to as the “Financially Excluded”. We offer a real alternative to high interest, sub-prime lenders that include door step lenders and, in the worst case, loan sharks. These lenders offer loans at very high rates of interest – representative APRs range from 272.2% to 2,814% and beyond.

Our aim is to help borrowers manage their often fixed and limited income, and not all applicants for a loan are successful. Affordability – the ability to repay the loan – is the most important aspect of any loan assessment. If a prospective borrower cannot afford to repay the loan then we do not lend to them. Instead, we try to encourage individuals to better money management by signposting to other agencies, e.g. for a benefits review to ensure they are receiving all that they are entitled to.

The majority of our borrowers live in the S2 and S5 areas of the city:

S2 includes: Arbourthorne, Darnall, Gleadless Valley, Heeley and Manor;
S5 includes: Burngreave, Firth Park, Parson Cross, Shiregreen and Southey.

All these areas of Sheffield share some significant characteristics including high levels of unemployment, a high proportion of single people, a high proportion of social housing and a lower than average level of owner-occupied housing.

It is also interesting to note that a high proportion (69%) of our borrowers are female, most of whom are parents, and the average age of our borrowers is 33. More than half of our borrowers have had more than one loan from us and the average loan value is £1,245. Since 2004 we have lent in excess of £1 million to almost 1,000 Sheffield people.

Here is an example of how a Moneyline loan, even at our rate of 31.6%, can be beneficial to a borrower:

We received an application from Sylvia to consolidate her debts of £2,214.43 which we agreed. Moneyline paid direct to all the creditors and saved Sylvia £311 for early repayment of some of those debts. Sylvia was paying £158.50 per week to repay her debts; the loan from Moneyline is being repaid at £44 per week, saving her £114.50 per week, or £458 per month - £5,496 per annum. She has been able to maintain her repayments to Moneyline and is well on the way to repaying the loan.

100 loans to similar borrowers keeps some £550,000 out of the hands of other, sub-prime lenders and keeps it within low income families. We recognise that there will always be a market for quick and expensive loans from other lenders – a simple Google search will bring up some 15 different companies on the first two pages, all offering loans to unemployed people. But we want to continue to offer an alternative in Sheffield.

What we're raising funds for

Moneyline has a close association with the city wide Sheffield Credit Union and part of our ethos is the concept of progression – helping our borrowers move into a more focused attitude to financial management, encouraging saving as a means of paying for regular expenditure. We would also like the resources to provide all applicants the opportunity to have one-to-one money advice from a trained specialist. By empowering the financially excluded people of Sheffield to make better financial decisions and helping them to manage their money more effectively, including using a bank account, they improve their credit scores and can access cheaper high street loans. They can also take advantage of other benefits, such as discounts for paying energy bills by direct debit.

However, our resources are limited. Moneyline does not receive Government support so paying for what we are trying to achieve is a constant, uphill struggle. We are working to help a sector of society in Sheffield that needs help with money management as well as loans, and to achieve that we need your support.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Please note this page does not form part of the bond offer documentation and prospective investors should not rely on it when deciding whether to invest in Allia bonds. The information on this page has been provided by the cause as a summary of its activities. Allia accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this information and prospective investors should contact the cause directly if they require further information or verifications.

The cause is required to use any funds raised through Allia’s charitable bonds in line with the activities described on this page. However, the cause reserves the right to use funds where it considers them to be most needed in order to achieve the same or similar social outcomes.