This is according to Ferratum, which launched in the UK four months ago and operates in 17 countries and has seen rapid growth since opening for business in July.
In 2009/2010, more than 1.2million people took out microloans in the UK – otherwise known as payday loans – but Ferratum says that if its growth figures are representative of the entire UK market, more than 2 million people will now be using payday loans.
Ian Porter, Ferratum UK’s sales and marketing manager, said: “Microloans are probably the fastest growth area in the financial services sector.
“We find that people like the flexibility of a microloan. They are able to borrow anything from £50 and £300 and repay it within a maximum of 45 days. Consumers are increasingly turning away from taking out a long term loan with a traditional lender.
“If the growth in our business is being matched by other companies, it is likely that in excess of 2 million people in the UK will have taken out a payday loan.”
