How Ethical Lenders Are Reshaping the UK Credit Market in 2025

It’s been a hot minute since last year’s autumn budget introduced regulations to keep in check predatory lending practices that have been exploiting borrowers. These included measures to promote fairer lending and bring ‘buy now, pay later’ providers under the purview of the FCA. While these potential reforms were aimed at improving the financial resilience of consumers, they have put unethical lending practices sharply into focus.

In 2025, the credit market is poised for further transformations that empower borrowers and protect them against exploitative lenders. Today, with a rise in fintech services and AI-driven apps, the loan market has allowed lenders to assess loan applications faster, offering greater transparency. This has allowed borrowers to access credit with ease and confidence, bad credit notwithstanding.

As a result, credit options like Salad’s more than your score loans are reshaping borrowing patterns. This is creating a paradigm shift in the credit market, with lenders no longer solely relying on credit scores to assess borrower creditworthiness.

In this article, we discuss the need for ethical lending to become the norm, not the exception and how ethical and inclusive lenders can make a difference.

Ethical and Inclusive Lending

It’s 2025, and most of you would agree that it’s high time the borrowing experience feels safer, hassle-free and smoother. With a sluggish economic recovery and people still tackling inflationary pressures in their day-to-day lives, borrowing has seen an upward trend and rightfully so.

However, there is a quiet dread that accompanies most loan applications, one that is a blend of uncertainty, fear of an application being rejected or worse, high-interest rates. And you are not the only one to experience this, as thousands of credit applicants go through the same ordeal.

Does it have to be that way? No, it doesn’t and ethical and inclusive lenders are part of this solution. What do they offer that sets them apart from traditional lenders, you may ask?

Making the Case for Ethical Lending

If you’ve been around the block, you may know that traditional lenders have stringent requirements due to their complex organisational hierarchy and profit motive. As a result, your chances of finding a suitable credit option with them are slim if you have a less-than-ideal credit score or a thin credit file.

Does this mean you can’t borrow? Thankfully, that’s not the case. For those with a poor credit history, you can still access credit, but you have to be discerning about who you choose to borrow from. This is where ethical lenders make their case.

Ethical lenders like Salad focus on financial inclusion by making credit accessible and inclusive for people with varying credit profiles, including those with bad credit. They make the extra effort to tailor their credit offerings to suit your specific financial situation and needs, based on factors beyond your credit score.

Key Advantages for Borrowers

The loan assessment criteria used by ethical and inclusive lenders vary significantly from traditional lenders. While traditional lenders are shoehorned into focusing on your credit score, ethical lenders use other factors to gauge your financial situation better.

These factors often include going through your online social media platforms, employment history, utility payments and more. The goal is to form a more accurate picture of you as a borrower, your character, integrity and trustworthiness. 

If you meet these criteria, you boost the lender’s confidence in you. As a result, you can receive customised low-cost credit options that are affordable and suit your budget and repayment capacity. In some cases, you’ll even receive free financial advice to improve your financial situation and boost your future security.

The New Standard for Lending

Today, with growing access to credit options, discerning borrowers are choosing their financial health and mental well-being. With ethical and inclusive lenders on the rise, gone are the days of trapping borrowers into potential debt with high-interest rates and ambiguous loan terms. 

This is because ethical lenders are catering to the common man, the everyday worker, borrowers who are easily overlooked by traditional lenders. Everyone from gig workers to part-time employees, freelancers and carers can access credit from ethical lenders.

This includes those who have a thin credit file, are looking to build up their credit history or have bad credit. These lenders can also be a lifeline in times of a financial emergency, as they have fast processing times and take a personal approach to your financial situation. Ethical lenders are the new standard in the borrowing market.

Ethical Lending is Here to Stay

With their empathetic, personalised approach to your finances and willingness to go the extra mile, ethical lenders are setting the stage for greater financial inclusion. This transformative shift could only mean one thing: that they’re here to stay and continue to make lending a more transparent and fairer process for everyone.