Impact Report:
The task is not to lower the standards for accessing credit. It is to give more people a fair opportunity to meet them.
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CEO statement
The UK credit system works well for people who are already established within it. For millions of others, it can be hard to access the products they need. Between four and five million have little or no credit history, often because they’re young, new to the UK or avoided credit altogether.
More than 16 million have experienced adverse credit. Others are self-employed or earn irregularly, so their income does not fit the pattern lenders expect. At Loqbox, we call them pre-prime: people with the potential to become the prime customers of tomorrow.
Getting started can be the hardest part. One of the products specifically promoted to help people build a history is a credit builder card, with an interest rate averaging around 36% APR. This is nearly double the rate on student cards, which many young people cannot get, as nearly seven in ten 18-year-olds had not secured a university or college place by results day this year. So the people with the least experience of credit often face some of the market’s highest borrowing costs.
— Tom Eyre, Co-Founder and CEO, Loqbox
Widening access to credit is an important part of financial inclusion, but the type of credit people can access, its cost and whether it is sustainable matter too.
In its 2026 policy briefing on credit cards, financial difficulty and persistent debt, StepChange Debt Charity estimates that:
5%
5% of UK adults, around 2.5 million people, are in persistent credit card debt.
46%
Almost half (46%) of people in persistent credit card debt have sub-prime card debt.
34%
One in three (34%) people actively borrowing on a sub-prime card are in persistent debt, compared with 9% of those using only mainstream cards.
1.2×
For someone borrowing £1,000 at 40% APR, StepChange models that remaining in persistent debt could result in interest costs of almost 1.2 times the original amount borrowed.¹
StepChange notes that credit cards can provide accessible and flexible credit, but its research also highlights the particular challenges persistent debt can create for people with lower financial resilience.²
For Loqbox, this reinforces the importance of creating better routes into, or back into, mainstream credit, helping people build their financial foundations before they borrow, and supporting access to credit that is appropriate and affordable.
² StepChange (2026) Policy briefing: Credit cards, financial difficulty and persistent debt.
Our call
Building better borrowers does not mean widening access to credit at any cost. Credit should be appropriate, affordable and provided when someone is equipped to manage it. Yet for many people building or rebuilding a credit history, the first step on offer is a high-cost credit card. We believe good credit building should go further, helping people build savings, knowledge and confidence alongside a track record of responsible credit management.
We're calling for three changes:
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 02
Michael
Michael’s story
From credit invisible to greater financial independence
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 02
Lee
Lee’s story
From a debt spiral to confidence about the future
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 03
Katy
Katy’s story
When access to credit as a young adult contributes to decades of debt
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 03
Amy
Amy’s story
From hidden debt to a new home and renewed financial confidence
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 04
Mateo
Mateo’s story
Building financial stability around a freelance career
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 04
Callum
Callum’s story
Building a visible credit history and the confidence to navigate everyday financial checks
Loqbox Impact Report
Chapter 05
Daisy
Daisy’s story
From financial anxiety and isolation to savings and greater control
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Loqbox Impact Report 2026
…or talk to us about partnering.
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