Every UK short-term credit firm, in one place.
A comprehensive, regularly verified record of FCA-authorised lenders and credit brokers operating in the UK short-term market, alongside historical entries for firms that have closed, entered administration, or relaunched under new ownership.
The largest UK short-term lender by verified review volume. Funding advertised in under 90 seconds, with lifetime late fees capped at £12, below the regulatory ceiling.
Direct lender operating with a daily interest rate of 0.79%, marginally below the FCA cap. Repayments processed every 15 minutes during business hours.
Specialist in adverse-credit applications. Operates two products: a higher-APR short-term loan and a lower-APR longer-term personal loan up to £2,500.
Positions itself on lower-APR competitive pricing within the regulated short-term market. Offers weekly, fortnightly, or monthly repayment schedules.
Lower-APR longer-term lender rather than payday-style lending. Online account portal for borrower management. Substantially cheaper for those who can wait.
Credit-line product, not a fixed-term loan. Materially lower APR than typical short-term lending, with a separate fixed-term loan product also available. Trading name of GAIN Credit LLC, the same legal entity that operates Lending Stream, sharing FCA reference 689378.
Direct lender offering longer-term unsecured personal loans without early-settlement charges. Stopped logbook lending in 2021 due to lack of demand. Now focused entirely on unsecured short-term loans.
London-based direct lender. Offers a discount for early repayment and charges no upfront fees. One of the longer-established firms still operating in the sector.
Operates as both a direct lender and a credit broker. Representative APR ranges from 49.9% at the lower end up to 1,261%, depending on the borrower profile.
Member of the Consumer Credit Trade Association. New customers limited to £300; returning customers up to £750. Same-day Faster Payments transfer.
Revolving credit-line product with a small per-transaction fee. Suited to borrowers with irregular drawing requirements rather than a single one-off loan need. Trading name of APFIN Limited, the same legal entity that operates CashASAP, sharing FCA reference 673186.
Membership-based lender offering interest-free advances funded by a monthly membership fee. Represents a structurally different proposition from interest-bearing short-term credit.
First-time customer cap of £300, returning up to £700. Application process documented as under 10 minutes, with approval typically within an hour.
Operates the largest comparison broker panel by lender count, with 30+ active partners. Provides a pre-application eligibility checker as a soft-search tool.
Established broker with a wide panel covering most major direct lenders. Operates a strong content strategy of lender-specific review pages, driving organic traffic. Trading name of Digitonomy Limited, the same legal entity that operates Little Loans, sharing FCA reference 690249.
Comparison broker with an editorial focus on total cost rather than headline APR. Offers eligibility checking ahead of full application, with no impact on credit file.
Smaller broker specialising in adverse-credit broking. Mobile-first application flow. Panel of lenders is more limited than the established comparison brokers.
Originally a major direct lender owned by Instant Cash Loans Ltd; entered Scheme of Arrangement October 2019. Domain acquired and relaunched as a credit broker in 2021 by Payday Loans Ltd, an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited (FCA 806333).
Original CURO Transatlantic Limited entered administration February 2019 with a same-day pre-pack sale to Shelby Finance. Domain acquired by Chojin Ltd in January 2021 and relaunched as a directly authorised FCA credit broker (FCA 732880), the same firm that operates the relaunched Pounds to Pocket.
Once one of the largest UK high-street short-term lenders. Closed August 2018 after compensation claims pressure. Domain relaunched under New Horizons Finance Limited, an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited (FCA 806333).
The defining UK payday lender of the pre-cap era. Entered administration August 2018 after a surge in mis-selling compensation claims overwhelmed reserves. Lent over £1.6bn at peak.
Originally operated by CashEuroNet UK as one of the UK's largest payday lenders; entered administration October 2019. The brand name was added to Quick Loans Ltd's FCA permissions in April 2023 and relaunched as a credit intermediary, distinct from the original lender.
Originally a direct lender operated by Elevate Credit International Limited; entered administration June 2020. Domain acquired and relaunched by Upward Finance Ltd, an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited (FCA 806333), as a credit broker, distinct from the original lender.
Doorstep lender that traded for over 140 years. Closed its consumer credit division in 2021, citing changing customer expectations and rising mis-selling complaint costs. One of the longest-running UK consumer lenders.
Online instalment-loan brand operated by Provident Personal Credit. Stopped lending in 2020 and entered administration in 2021 alongside parent business closure.
Specialist guarantor lender, a structurally different model from traditional payday lending. Began winding down in 2022 after a court-rejected scheme of arrangement. Final loan book run-off completed 2024.
Long-running short-term lender that served over 2 million customers. Placed in administration December 2020. Trustpilot reputation remained strong throughout operation. Mis-selling complaint costs proved unsustainable.
Bournemouth-based small-loan specialist (£100-£1,000) operated by DJS UK Limited. Temporarily banned from lending by FCA in July 2019; entered administration December 2019. Held 45,000 active borrowers at closure.
Trading name of Cash On Go Ltd. Entered administration March 2020. Offered short-term loans up to £1,000 over up to 12 months. Among the wave of post-Wonga closures driven by compensation claim volumes.
Online short-term lender that entered administration weeks after QuickQuid in November 2019. Smaller operation but caught in the same compensation-claim wave.
Open-banking-based revolving credit product operated by Indigo Michael Limited. Entered administration January 2023. Offered an automated drawdown product distinct from traditional payday lending.
Long-established doorstep lender. Listed on AIM until administration in November 2023. Owned the Dot Dot Loans online brand. Final wind-down marked the end of the major UK home-credit operators.
Originally an online instalment-loan brand of Morses Club, operated by Shelby Finance Limited until administration in November 2023. Domain subsequently acquired by PJG Financial Limited and relaunched as an FCA-authorised credit broker, distinct from the original lender.
Finnish-headquartered international lender that withdrew from the UK market in March 2020, ceasing to accept new applications. Continued operating in other European jurisdictions.
Long-standing UK direct lender. Closed applications and entered administration in March 2020 following compensation claim pressure consistent with the wider sector pattern.
Stopped accepting applications from new and existing customers in 2022. Existing customer service maintained for account queries on legacy loans. No new lending.
Originally the instalment-loan trading name of CashEuroNet UK LLC alongside QuickQuid. CashEuroNet entered administration in October 2019 when US parent Enova International voluntarily exited the UK market. The administration paid 53.5p in the £, the highest dividend in the UK payday sector. Domain acquired by Chojin Ltd in June 2022 and relaunched as a directly authorised credit broker, the same firm that operates the relaunched WageDayAdvance.
Instalment-loan sister brand of QuickQuid and Pounds to Pocket. Wound up alongside the wider CashEuroNet UK collapse in October 2019.
Methodology
Every entry in this directory is verified against the FCA register and the firm's own published disclosures. Data points such as loan ranges, representative APR, term lengths and fee structures are checked at each quarterly review and dated accordingly. Historical records are sourced from Companies House, published administrator reports and contemporaneous regulatory action notices.
The directory is independent. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. Exclusion does not imply censure. Firms are listed for the benefit of borrowers researching the UK short-term credit market. Editorial summaries reflect the directory's analytical view; readers are encouraged to verify details directly with each firm before applying.
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