The War on Wonga: The Church of England's Campaign Against Payday Lenders

In May 2013, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, proposed to create the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union as an alternative to payday lenders. His chief target was Wonga.com, an online provider of short-term loans that was founded in 2006 in the United Kingdom and quickly grew to become the largest payday lender in the country. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, short-term lenders saw a rapid increase in business as banks tightened their lending standards. However, they often charged as much as 5,000 per cent interest or more. Customers were frequently unsophisticated borrowers, and Wonga’s advertising appeared to be directed to vulnerable populations and children. The archbishop did not feel that regulation was the answer to payday lenders and instead sought to compete with them. Is his strategy viable?