Helping people to meet their needs and achieve their aspirations, free from problem debt.
Too many low-income New Zealanders have little choice but to take out high-interest loans that are unaffordable and unsustainable, often to meet their everyday needs. For many people and their family or whānau, this creates problems of debt and hardship.
The Safer Credit and Financial Inclusion Strategy is a partnership between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), and Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), with the financial services industry and community partners, to provide collective solutions that support people and whānau facing financial hardship or with problem debt.
Our vision is that New Zealanders thrive, and can achieve their goals and aspirations, free from problem debt.
Our goals are:
- People and whānau to have clear pathways to accessing financial and non-financial products, services, and support that are affordable and appropriate to their needs.
- Government, the financial services industry and the community sector partner to deliver inclusive and innovative products, services and support that meet the different needs of communities.
- A more responsive and accountable financial services system that learns from its customers and adjusts and adapts its services to meet the best interests of customers especially those experiencing hardship or vulnerable circumstances.
The partnership will enlist input from the most affected communities to create solutions that work for those in most need.
The strategy works alongside new measures introduced by the Government to stop families falling into hardship caused by predatory lending. This includes new consumer credit legislation which is expected to come into force in 2020.