Social impact fintech Salad Money has secured a GBP 40 million debt facility with a US-based credit fund to help unlock loans for NHS and public sector workers. An ethical alternative to payday lending, Salad Money is a community development finance institute (CFDI) that provides small-sum loans to key workers across both the NHS and the public sector.

As it leverages Open Banking and machine learning to have affordability assessed, Salad Money is enabled to offer loans of up to GBP 1,000 to customers who might otherwise be turned down by traditional lenders who rely on credit scores. Salad Money and how the debt facility falls into place Based on details provided in the announcement, the new funding helps complement arrangements with existing funders and is set to enable the fintech company to meet the increasing demand that it has noticed towards affordable credit options. Following the receival of this new, committed facility, the company’s total senior debt funding is brought to GBP 50 million, thus helping increase the financial firepower to aid more NHS and public sector workers in avoiding high-cost credit, as stated by the company’s spokesperson.

Officials added that they can see first-hand the demand for fair and affordable finance growing at a rapid pace, and having this knowledge as their basis, they’re looking to help address this need. The announcement details that approximately one-third of adults are facing difficulties with accessing credit from mainstream lenders, oftentimes due to the fact that people are either ‘credit invisible’ or have poor or low credit scores. Salad customers are typically enabled to save more than GBP 335 in interest, as opposed to alternative options, with the fintech providing financial education, support, and signposting to a multitude of applicants, regardless of whether it can offer them credit or not.

When commenting on securing the debt facility, company representatives advised that the landmark deal for the UK’s community development finance sector comes as an important addition for NHS and public sector workers who have a need and possibility to repay credit but do not have enough fair options available. As per their statement, without CFDIs of the likes of Salad, these consumers are locked out of access to finance and have a risk to turn to providers who do not have their well-being prioritised. What is more, Salad Money is also a member of Responsible Finance, a network of community lenders focused on financial inclusion that has the vision of creating a fair financial system in the UK by scaling up the community development finance sector.

This is believed to help investment flow into communities in order to have positive economic, social, and environmental impacts created. .