Many people are now accessing high-cost short-term credit (HCSTC) online, by using laptops, tablets and smart phones to apply for and access loans. In fact around 80% of pay day loans, which is a type of HCSTC, are now applied for and managed online according to research by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2015.

This project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), explores how these changing practices associated with accessing HCSTC online are shaping consumer decision making processes of taking on credit.

Over the course of the project, we will be speaking to web and app designers, customers of HCSTC, debt support charities and financial regulators. We will investigate how digital interfaces for accessing HCSTC products are designed and how people use them.