Loans and help for low incomes, country by country

Help for people on low incomes depends heavily on where you live. Benefit systems, emergency grants, lending rules, credit reference agencies and the bodies that regulate lenders all differ from one country to the next, and advice that is sound in one place can be misleading in another. The guides in this section look at each country separately, so you can find the support and protections that actually apply to you.

Two guides per country

Most countries are covered by a pair of pages. One explains borrowing on a low income: which lenders are regulated, how credit checks work, interest rate rules where they exist and the safer alternatives such as credit unions or community lenders. The other focuses on emergency financial help: state benefits, local crisis funds, food aid and free advice services to approach before any loan.

English-speaking countries

We currently cover the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines in English. For the UK, start with loans and support for low-income people in the UK or emergency financial help in the UK. Readers in Canada can go straight to emergency financial assistance in Canada, and the list below links to every other English guide.

Other countries in their own language

If you have moved country recently, check the rules where you live now rather than where you lived before: eligibility for benefits often depends on residence, and your credit history may not follow you abroad.

Countries where English is not the main language are covered in the local language, written for residents there: for example, German pages for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Spanish pages for Spain and Latin America, and Japanese pages for Japan. French-speaking countries are covered in the French section of the site.

What to compare from one country to another

• who regulates lenders, and how to check that a lender is authorised;
• whether there is a cap on interest or on the total cost of credit;
• how credit files work and how long missed payments stay on them;
• which emergency grants exist, and whether they are national or local;
• where to get free, independent debt advice.

The same warning everywhere

Whatever the country, fake lenders target people on low incomes through social media, messaging apps and cold calls. A genuine lender does not ask for a fee before paying out a loan, and a genuine grant never costs money to apply for. Compare the APR or local equivalent and the total amount repayable, and seek help before borrowing whenever you can. Choose your country from the list below.