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At NTM we remember that in 2018, Budget Loans were fined $720,000 in the Auckland District Court on 125 charges.

Management banning orders have been issued against father-and-son from Budget Loans Limited.

More needs to be done to curb payday lenders, written in the Dominion Post.

State of the Nation Report 2019 by the Salvation Army

Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Trust has made a submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, on the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill, June 2019.

As submissions closed in June on the Credit Contracts Amendment Bill, the clarion call from Ngā Tangata Microfinance, FinCap, budgeting services and poverty focussed agencies throughout the country was unanimous: an interest rate cap must be a priority.

Loan applications sent to Ngā Tāngata Microfinance are facilitated by an approved budgeting organisation. FinCap provides support to nearly 200 budgeting centres and over 2000 financial mentors and as such is an essential partner in enabling clients to access Ngā Tāngata Microfinance’s services. FinCap’s quality assurance programmes and ongoing training, ensures that the advice provided to clients is of the highest standard. Visit website

Tui* and her five children had spent ten months living with Tui’s parents in a small, two-bedroom house. Because of the cramped conditions, Tui’s relationship with her parents had become very fragile - her father has a brain injury and found it hard to tolerate the noise of five children in the house. Not only that, Tui had a difficult relationship with the children’s father and her eldest daughter was unwell. Tui and her family desperately needed to move into their own home, but she didn’t have enough saved for a tenancy bond. She had been working with a financial mentor for over 10 years, who suggested she apply for an interest-free GetAhead Asset Building loan from Ngā Tāngata Microfinance to meet the cost of the tenancy bond. The loan was approved and Tui and her children have happily moved into their own home. With the encouragement of her financial mentor, Tui also undertook a course of study for a degree and is now employed using that qualification. She continues to work with her financial mentor as her student loan repayments are leaving her little money to save. Now that she’s not living in such a cramped living environment, Tui...

Eileen* had been working with a financial mentor for around 18 months, who had helped her consolidate several small debts to make them more manageable. She was working 12-hour shifts for a very low wage, while caring for her disabled daughter. Due to her low income and debts, she had to sell her car to pay for food, so had resorted to riding a bicycle to work. While going to work one day, she fell off her bike and broke her arm. When her arm healed she went on to a better job, but had to move on from her Housing NZ house, because her new home needed to be within biking distance from work. Eileen tried several sources for the required bond money, with no luck. Desperate to move into a suitable house that she had found, she applied to Ngā Tāngata Microfinance for an interest-free, fee-free loan. Because she had been seeing a financial mentor for a number of years and had demonstrated her strong desire to manage her life and take good care of her daughter, her application was successful and she was offered a GetAhead Asset Building loan. Eileen was able to move with her disabled...

He is on the board of the FinCap and is their representative with NTM trustees. Ronji Tanielu was born in Apia Samoa and raised in Māngere, South Auckland. Ronji has degrees in law and politics from the University of Auckland and is a dedicated advocate for their South Auckland communities, for Pacific Island peoples and for those marginalised and impoverished people and communities. Ronji has the practical experience in youth and community development, mentoring and government contracting to provide valuable insights into the issues facing Pacific youth and what can be done to support them.