Centre for Responsible Credit

Who we are

The Centre for Responsible Credit is a registered charity working to influence the regulation of credit markets, and to improve the way that credit is provided, particularly for lower income households. We also work to create better support and solutions for people who are struggling with debt.

Founded in 2010, we drove the campaign for caps on the total cost of credit that could be charged by payday lenders. Brought into effect by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2015 the total cost cap has saved approximately 760,000 borrowers up to £150 million per year since then. We also campaigned for, and won, a cap on the rent-own-lenders in 2019. This has reduced costs for people who had previously been paying extortionate prices for basic household items such as cookers and fridges.

In 2022, our pro bono campaigning work with debt advisers prevented proposed cuts of £14 million to community-based debt advice services.

We are also the innovators behind the FlexMyRent scheme, and have been working to improve the support available to people with long-term health conditions in our Financial Shield project in partnership advice agencies in Lambeth and Southwark.

We also provide high quality research and evaluation services, including assessing the social impact of the recent no interest loan scheme offered by the not-for-profit lender Fair for You in partnership with Iceland Foods.

Our culture and values

Working for CfRC involves ensuring and maintaining high standards. We work flexibly, collaboratively, and with passion to improve the lives of lower-income households. 

CfRC has adopted the following principles from the Research Integrity Office’s Code of Practice, and these guide our approach to all projects.

EXCELLENCE: We strive for excellence.  We work to achieve this both as an organisation and as individual members of staff.  We aim to produce and disseminate work of the highest quality.

HONESTY: As an organisation we are committed to create and maintain a culture that fosters and supports honesty. We are honest in relation to our own activities and those of others. We do our utmost to ensure the accuracy of our data, results, and comments. We acknowledge the contributions of others, and neither engage in misconduct nor conceal it.

INTEGRITY: We comply with all legal and ethical requirements relevant to our field of study. We declare any potential or actual conflicts of interest relating to our activities and where necessary take steps to resolve them.

COOPERATION: We promote the open exchange of ideas, research methods, data, and results both within the organisation and externally.  We take active steps to encourage discussion, scrutiny and debate about our research methods and findings, subject to any considerations of confidentiality.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Our research activities are ultimately accountable to the public, and we act accordingly. Any research we undertake will comply with the agreements, terms and conditions relating to the project, and allow for proper governance and transparency. We follow the requirements and guidance of professional bodies relevant to our field, for example the Market Research Society’s Code of Practice. 

TRAINING AND SKILLS: We are committed to providing training and development opportunities for our staff, and to equipping them with the necessary resources to enable them to conduct projects to the required standards. We support our staff to identify unmet needs for training and development.  

SAFETY: We ensure the dignity, rights, safety, and wellbeing of all involved in our projects and avoid unreasonable risk or harm to research subjects, participants, researchers, and others. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We are committed to promoting greater equity and social justice; to inclusivity and the celebration of diversity, and to empowering lower income people and communities who are in debt to exercise greater autonomy in their lives.

We promote equality of opportunity, social justice, inclusion and celebration of diversity, especially in respect of the established equality strands of gender, impairment (including health and disability), learning difference, age, ethnicity, religion and belief, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment but also in respect of socio-economic or marital status, trade union membership, family circumstances, political belief, language or culture.