Why are microloans dangerous for Russians and why should they not be taken? We find out all the non-obvious points. What are the dangers of taking out microloans? Why are microloans harmful? Why you shouldn't contact them

In any city in Russia, in addition to banks, there are microloan organizations. Such establishments are very popular among local residents.

Bus stops and traffic poles are full of advertisements about providing a loan with a passport in half an hour, quick loans in one day, and emergency financial assistance. Lenders, at huge interest rates, without income certificates and guarantors, promise to lend money, the so-called quick loans. The most vulnerable segments of the population often turn to such organizations: pensioners, disabled people, low-income families. That is, all insolvent citizens to whom banks refused to issue a loan. When applying for a quick loan, people sign an agreement without reading it, where in small print the amount from 100 to 900% per annum is indicated. No one thinks about a possible delay in loan payment. As a result, having borrowed 4,000 rubles, a person cannot repay the debt on time. Then, in a short time, sky-high interest is added to the amount and you need to return 40,000 rubles, which the debtor does not have.

There are also opposite situations, when a person with a stable income takes out a loan and fundamentally does not want to pay it off. The number of overdue loans is growing every year. Moreover, many people take out a new loan to pay off the previous one, and become chronic debtors. In any case, large banks and credit companies may transfer the personal data of defaulters to collection agencies that collect debts.

The racketeers are back

The activities of modern collectors are reminiscent of the racketeering of the dashing nineties. They use profanity, psychological pressure, threaten harm to health, kidnapping, and violence. Cases of how debt collectors collect debts, much is known. So in Ulyanovsk in January of this year, an employee of a collection company threw a bottle with a flammable mixture at the debtor’s window. The house caught fire and a two-year-old child suffered serious burns. In the Novosibirsk region, debt collectors raped a woman and beat her husband because of a debt of 5,000 rubles.

Often neighbors, co-workers and even strangers suffer for other people's debts. For example, in the Rostov region, collectors promised to blow up a kindergarten if an employee of the institution who used quick loans does not repay the loan. In Yekaterinburg, they first threatened to kill him and then poured glue into the lock of the debtor's neighbors. And in St. Petersburg, after talking on the phone with an employee of a collection agency, a schoolgirl jumped out of a window from the eleventh floor. The collector, threatening with violence, shouted that her parents owed more than 80,000 rubles on the loan. The child survived, but remained permanently disabled. Later it turned out that the loan was taken out by the former residents of this apartment.

Delayed collector

Within the framework of the law, collectors have the right only to negotiate with the debtor. Threats against him are criminally punishable. In connection with the latest shocking cases of debt collection, deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation have developed a new bill, according to which the activities of collection agencies are illegal.

So on April 15, Volgograd operatives detained a collector from St. Petersburg. For a debt of less than 20,000 rubles, he threatened to kill a cadet at the Volgograd Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy. An employee of the collection company called the school's duty station 150 times within 24 hours and, using obscene language, demanded that the phone be handed over to the debtor. Using recordings of telephone conversations, investigators identified the number and determined where the call was made. The operatives immediately went to the collection call center in St. Petersburg. Voice samples were taken from agency employees and compared with a telephone recording, which made it possible to quickly identify the collector who threatened to kill the cadet. He turned out to be 24-year-old Mikhail Borisov, an auto mechanic by profession. In a conversation with the police, the guy said that when communicating with debtors, the agency valued blackmail, insults and threats. The young man could not even imagine that such methods were criminally punishable. Borisov faces imprisonment for up to five years.

How to avoid falling into credit slavery

Who among us has not been in such a situation when some 10-15 thousand rubles are missing for a desired purchase, and friends and relatives are not able to help? Someone will save money and buy the item they like another time. But most people prefer to take out a loan. In addition, advertising in the media and street banners call for solving financial difficulties through quick loans. People are not offered to find a part-time job, save money or spend it more economically.

Credit in the eyes of the public is presented as a way to improve life. Do you want an iPhone for 60 thousand rubles? Are you dreaming of a holiday in Australia? Have your eye on a car for one and a half million rubles? Just apply for a loan. However, before you take on a monetary debt, ask yourself the question: “How will I pay it back?” Anyone can lose their job or become incapacitated, and then their relatives will have to pay the loan. If relatives cannot repay the debt, collectors will take over the matter. Therefore, in order not to go into debt, it is important to be able to live within your means.

Material prepared by Daria Lychagina

Hello, Myfody! At the moment, many people in our country are experiencing financial difficulties. There are many reasons for this, including economic instability and rising prices.

Microfinance organizations offer solutions to these problems. They attract with favorable conditions, fast cash disbursement and ease of registration. MFOs gladly accept both students and pensioners into the ranks of their clients. But why are microloans dangerous? Is it worth taking them? How to protect yourself?

What are the dangers of microloans?

Seeing MFOs as the only savior, people often do not pay attention to certain risks. Losing vigilance, most borrowers thoughtlessly sign an agreement and take out loans.

Only a few of them still bother to look at the size of the bet, which remains high due to the timing and increased risks. If you're lucky, it will be between 1% and 2% per day.

Why do quick loans have such a high rate? There are several reasons for this:

Increased risks of non-return (included in the bet amount);
Lack of a fixed rate for all microfinance organizations (for banks this indicator is set by the regulator).

How dangerous is it to take a microloan from an MFO?

MFO representatives themselves say that the amount of interest is insignificant, since loans are issued for a short period. Therefore, the danger of microcredits or microloans is somewhat exaggerated.

If a person is confident in his financial capabilities, has correctly calculated all the nuances and has taken out a loan for a minimum period, then there is nothing to worry about.

However, recently, a high percentage of borrowers, due to certain financial difficulties, often cannot repay the money on time. And then penalties and fines for non-payment are imposed on the amount of already huge interest.

Such problems are fraught with complete credit bondage, as the borrower tries to pay off previous debts with new loans. He has new debts.

Therefore, Mythodiy, everyone decides for themselves whether to turn to an MFO or not. If you decide to take advantage of a tempting loan offer, weigh all the risks and carefully study the agreement

By 2017, the number of leading microfinance organizations in the Russian Federation had significantly decreased from more than 7,000 to less than 3,000, this is primarily due to new amendments to the law on "On microfinance activities and microfinance organizations" regulated by law on "About consumer credit". The amount of loans taken is about 15 trillion rubles, about 7 million Russians have not repaid their loans. The abbreviation MFO now has a certain general idea of microloan companies.

Division of MFOs into MCC and MFC

What is MCC - a microcredit company that issues loans to citizens of the Russian Federation up to 500 thousand rubles for individuals and up to 3 million rubles for legal entities.

What is MFC - a microfinance company with the possibility of lending to citizens up to 1 million rubles. and for legal entities up to 3 million rubles. The main difference is the receipt of money from citizens of the Russian Federation as investments in the company. You can invest an amount starting from 1.5 million rubles at interest. Such a company must have at least 70 million equity capital.

What is the main danger of microloans

The widespread availability of microfinance organizations cannot go unnoticed by us. At bus stops, in crowded alleys, and near metro stations, microfinance organizations have proliferated everywhere. You can often see several people waiting in line for a loan. Everywhere you look there are beautiful and bright banners offering easy money from, “Fast Loans”, “Money in Hands”, etc. Why do you think that in the crisis of recent years, when many companies are closing and cannot exist in the market due to low purchasing power and many other factors, there are more and more MFO offices issuing cash loans? You can probably guess that the majority of borrowers are poor people, where the risk of non-repayment of a microloan is very high. As always, the law of increasing wealth at the expense of the poor works. New microfinance organizations are opening that specialize in issuing loans in cash and exclusively online. The paradox for the average person is that banks, microfinance organizations, pawnshops, financial cooperatives and other financial institutions are profiting from the crisis. For a financially literate person, a microloan is not an option. Let's figure out why.

Exorbitantly high interest rate

Where do such extortionate interest rates come from? With such interest rates, the risk of not repaying a microloan is approaching a critical level. By law, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation does not regulate the annual interest rate for microfinance organizations; it can be 500% per annum or more than 1000% per annum. The standard range of interest rates for most microfinance organizations is within 700-900% per annum, and this does not include fines and penalties. So, if the interest rate does not have a regulator, then who came up with it? The interest rate today (February 2017) is regulated by the MFOs themselves under the pressure of their own competition with each other. The market for microfinance companies has reached acceptable levels, which include all the risks of loan non-repayment by unscrupulous borrowers.

What is dangerous about microloans is the interest rate. The usual interest rate is within 2% per day, multiply by 365 days and get an impressive amount. They took 10,000 rubles at 2 percent, didn’t pay for a year and already owe 73,000 rubles, and that’s without penalties. Not a bad business, right? Who is to blame, that's right - you yourself! All this was indicated in, which you, of course, must read and understand before signing. Why is it that when a person wants to take out a new iPhone on credit from a bank, he considers 35% per annum a large overpayment and strives to take it in installments, while a microloan at 800% per annum is a good solution to temporarily not experience financial difficulties.

When a microfinance company gives you a loan, it doesn’t care; what you own (except microloans secured by collateral, car or real estate collateral), how much your salary is, do you have any other bank loans, microloans from other microfinance organizations, do you have a credit history, positive or negative credit history, will guarantee Is there anyone for you? All this is a huge risk that is covered by a high interest rate. A high percentage of the population who took out a microloan and subsequently did not repay it runs into the thousands. An MFO has a portfolio - the money of the company's capital. Imagine if the minimum amount of the loan portfolio for entering the MFO market is 70 million rubles, then according to monitoring data, non-repayment is up to 50-70% of the loan portfolio for some MFOs. And how else should a company protect itself, if not with a high interest rate.

About 3 million Russians use microloan services, the total loan portfolio of all microfinance organizations is more than 90 billion rubles. for 2017

One of the most important amendments to this is that the maximum loan debt cannot exceed a 4-digit amount of the loan amount. They took 10 thousand rubles, give back no more than 40 thousand rubles, even if you didn’t pay at all during any period.

Microloans and the risks of interest bondage

Over the past 2 years, the demand for microloans has increased by more than 40%. Despite the fact that 14% of microfinance organizations left the market, we saw an increase in the total loan portfolio to 90 billion rubles. - reports the Central Bank.

Is it worth the risk of taking out a loan? Microfinance companies and their competent employees can tell you a lot and for a long time how profitable microloans are, how wonderful it is that you can borrow money before your salary and it’s only at 1.9% interest per day. In a difficult financial situation, you don’t have to choose; you need money now and there’s no time to think about it. Someone needs to buy medicine, someone takes it just so that they have money in their pocket - it doesn’t matter. It is always important to soberly assess all the risks of microloans!

What is the risk of contracting an epidemic called microloans? If you do not repay the amounts specified in the microloan agreement, you doom yourself to an unstable future. This can be expressed in the concern of you and your loved ones with collection agencies, litigation, which will entail much greater financial losses. The loss of apartments, plots of land, cars for which payments have not been made for years is no longer a horror story, but a reality. What else could happen and for what reasons you might stop repaying the microloan:

You may lose your job and be unable to repay your microloan;
Physical injury and deteriorating health will prevent you from repaying the loan;
The illness of loved ones and relatives may not allow you to pay a microloan;
Force majeure circumstances.

Invest in your decision to take out a quick loan all possible risks and your own life circumstances. So as not to regret later about the unsuccessful experience of lending in MFOs.

What danger lies in a microloan agreement?

All your relations as a borrower with the microfinance organization are regulated in the microloan agreement. The most “slippery aspects” that are dangerous for the borrower are veiled by many terms and written in small print. Agreements are always boring and tedious; not everyone wants to read them and it’s easier to trust a smiling MFO employee. Everything unpleasant in relations with microloans was spelled out in the agreement, which you were obliged to read and sign. At this stage you only have yourself to blame. You do not own any property; work, rich acquaintances and friends, bad credit history and a lot of debts from banks and other microfinance organizations? But are you happy that another MFO gave you a loan? Read the comments of people like you on the article and. Now you will understand that the risk of owing large sums will shackle your usual way of life.

When you firmly decide that you cannot do without a microloan, be sure to read the microloan agreement in full and if something is not clear, ask an MFO employee! Let this understanding of the contract take an hour or two, this is your money and reducing the risks of a microloan!

Many people are confident that if they did not sign the agreement with their own hand and took out a loan online, then the agreement is not valid. Oh how wrong they are, an electronic signature has the same legal force as a loan agreement signed with your own hand. For those who don’t know, let’s figure out what an electronic signature is in a microloan agreement. It is dangerous not to take a microloan, but it is dangerous to not be literate with MFOs.

Reduce risks when borrowing:

You can contact several microfinance organizations and compare loan terms;
You can view a certified copy of the MFO registration certificate with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
By law, you have 5 days to study the microloan agreement; no one forces you to sign the agreement right away (few people know this).

Electronic signature

How to give microloans online via the Internet; you choose the loan terms, amount, and register on the MFO website. If you are approved for a loan under certain conditions, you must sign an electronic agreement with a microfinance company, you can call it an online microloan agreement. It happens like this:

The MFO sends you an online microloan agreement signed by the microfinance company, now only you need to sign;
An SMS message with a special individual code is sent to your phone number;
You carefully read the microloan agreement and, if you agree, sign it, indicating the code in a special window on the MFO website.

Immediately after signing the agreement, the required amount should be transferred to your bank account, card or payment system, depending on which payment method you have chosen.

I applied for a microloan but the money did not arrive

This also happens: you signed a microloan agreement via the Internet and the money never arrived in your account. An MFO will never risk a license and violate an agreement; this is extremely unprofitable for them. Money may not arrive only due to a technical glitch in the system. On the websites of all self-respecting microfinance companies there is a special help section, the so-called FAQ, question and answer, etc. Most often, you need to call the microfinance organization and report that the microloan was approved but the money did not arrive and they will fix everything right away.

Danger of losing a car or property

If you take out a microloan in offices, that is, off-line, and they ask you for real estate or a car as collateral, then these are not always scammers. When you take out a microloan for a small amount of up to one hundred thousand, no collateral is needed. But if you decide to take out a microloan of 500 rubles, then you will definitely be asked to leave a car or real estate as collateral. All this is stated on the website of the company that issues the microloan. There are microfinance organizations that specialize in secured loans and work only on such conditions.

Some citizens still take people at their word and take loans from private individuals. We warn you - never take loans from private lenders, it can cost you all your property and health! The danger of loans from private individuals is not at all exaggerated; do not make mistakes for which you could lose your life!

The danger of disclosing confidential data

In order to avoid data leakage (passport data, credit and debit cards, passwords, etc.), you must trust your confidential data only to sites secured using the https protocol. This HTTPS certificate is used by all licensed microfinance organizations; work using the regular protocol (HTTP) is prohibited for microfinance organizations’ websites. You can see this for yourself and make sure that the bank card details and passport data you entered will not fall into the hands of fraudsters. In the upper left corner of the browser, in the domain name URL entry line, the connection protocol to the website is indicated:

What are the dangers of prolonging a loan?

Let’s imagine a situation where for some reason you cannot repay a microloan on time, what should you do? Loan extension will solve your problem. Most microfinance organizations accommodate everyone who wants to extend a loan, since this is extremely profitable for them. Let me remind you that all this was initially spelled out in the contract. The danger and increased risk of non-payment of the loan is that for overtime use of the loan you are charged additional interest. You can extend the loan for at least several years. It’s even scary to calculate how much money you will bring to the company. In fact, for MFOs this is super-profit and you yourself go for it. Do not forget to take a certificate of full repayment of the loan after paying off the microloan in full, this will protect you from future disagreements.

Of course this is better than not paying the loan. As soon as you realize that you are not able to pay the loan on time, inform the lender about this and they will always accommodate you.

Collectors keep calling

Are debt collectors dangerous? No, they are not dangerous - they have greatly reduced their rights in relation to debtors. Now they cannot call you at any time of the day, threaten, swear, etc.

Fines (penalties) on overdue loans

MFOs will apply penalty interest only in case of late payment on the loan. The amounts of fines for different microfinance organizations are very different. One microfinance organization may charge a fine of 20% per year and another up to 10% per day. There is no law regulating late loan penalties, at least not yet. How to deal with microloans that charge draconian fines and you already understand that you cannot pay? There is only one way, filing a lawsuit. In this case, you definitely won’t have to pay fines.

Don't leave your passport as collateral

Some scammers ask you to leave your passport or phone as collateral. Not long ago they wrote to our website about this method of divorce from supposedly microfinance organizations. Many websites write that you need to study reviews of microfinance organizations on the websites of the companies themselves; believe me, not one microfinance organization will write anything bad about itself. It is difficult to trust reviews; there is rarely a site like ours that does not buy reviews and comments and does not try to “sell” credit.

What could be the benefit of a microloan?

There is a category of people who take it. Since the MFO sends information to the BKI, the loan paid without delay serves to benefit the credit history. As a rule, such people need to either correct or establish a positive credit history. For example, they want to take out a mortgage on an apartment, but without a credit history, banks are afraid to contact the borrower. A series of microloans can help out here.

You shouldn’t be afraid to take a loan, you should be afraid of ignorance towards yourself. Financial literacy will protect you from many troubles in the future. The site will continue to educate you in the field of microloans, good luck in your personal finances and ask any questions in the comments.

According to the new law, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation became the regulator of the interest rate for the MCC and IFC, where the permitted maximum interest rate is 806% per annum.

Many people believe that any loan is a kind of slavery and that supposedly today “credit slavery” has been replaced by “slavery” of microcredits.

According to statistics, many people, thanks to various loans, fell into a “debt hole.” They took several thousand for current needs and ended up in debt. But I would like to immediately clarify that, as a rule, these are the people who take out loans thoughtlessly, believing that quick money is a way to live for pleasure. Not at all, microloans are a way to solve your minor financial difficulties, and not an opportunity to quickly get money.

Signs like “Money in 5 minutes” can be seen very often in any city. And many people fall for them. Some do it out of stupidity, while for others they become almost the last lifeline.

Many people have heard the term “microcredit”. But not all people understand that microcredit and instant credit are two different things. No, of course there is a similarity, but it is insignificant - the speed of issuing a loan. That's all. The advertisement promises to help not only with money, but to do everything quickly and at the same time require a minimum of documents. However, if you delve into the essence of such proposals, you will see many “buts”.
The market reacted quickly to the fact that bank lending was frozen. The number of microfinance organizations (MFOs) has increased sharply. The number of microloans issued is increasing, while consumer loans are decreasing. Where else can an ordinary citizen turn? And the promised 1%-2% per day seems like nothing. Few people realize that this is 365-730% per annum, and if there are late fees, then the percentage is simply extortionate.

Of course, the purpose of microcredit is to help a person solve his pressing problems for a short time. Such a huge percentage is explained by the fact that microloans are issued to everyone with a passport and, interestingly, practically without taking into account the credit history of the borrower.

The danger of microcredit

If the advantages of microloans can be listed on the fingers of one hand, then the disadvantages are much greater. Astronomical interest rates, limited loan amount and loan term, large penalties, the likelihood of falling into the hands of fraudsters - this is just the tip of the iceberg. It would seem such a simple operation, but it is fraught with such danger.

1. The first danger is that some (usually unknown) companies offering these types of loans actually turn out to be scammers. The first sign of this is the obligation to pledge various documents, valuable property, and sometimes even a passport to the lender as collateral.

2. The second danger, as mentioned above, is high cost. To take out a loan from an MFO, you need to be sure that you will be able to pay it off on time. Although such organizations rely on the classics of the genre: they took it, they couldn’t pay it back on time, and they ended up in debt. With such huge interest rates, penalties and penalties, a week of delay is fatal for the borrower. And if it is possible to resolve the issue of restructuring or credit holidays with the bank, then the MFO does not provide this. But the collectors of such companies are recruited. There are no clear laws that could regulate this area of activity, so whoever wants does what they want. Although the existing law obliges all terms of provision to be clearly indicated in the contract, some organizations, to put it mildly, are disingenuous.

Before taking out a micro loan, we suggest you get acquainted with, which will help you learn more about the company from which you decided to receive money.

Note that many microfinance organizations give quick money only after inspecting the borrower’s home - to ensure solvency and confirm the client’s actual place of residence.

In many developed countries, the number of microfinance organizations is limited, and in some states of America they are completely prohibited, because such organizations aggravate the already bad situation of the borrower.

Some people mistakenly believe that paying back a small amount of money is not necessary. But that's not true. As with any bank loan, the money must be repaid. Because the organization that gave them to you can go to court, win the case and come for the property.

If it so happens that you have to borrow money from an MFO, you need to try to follow all the rules and repay the debt on time or at least in parts.

It is often quite difficult to get a loan from a bank, since the requirements of lenders are constantly becoming more stringent. Against this background, it is much easier to take out a loan from a microfinance organization by applying for it online. However, such loans may carry certain risks.

How to choose reliable microfinance organizations and which ones you should not contact

Many experts recommend that when choosing an MFO, first of all, find out whether the organization has a website and a number in the state register of the Central Bank. It is also important that the company has a working call center. MFOs that aim to quickly earn money and leave the market are usually unwilling to invest in infrastructure. Those who are going to work long and seriously strive to create effective work tools.

According to Chief Executive Officer of the Home Money company Andrey Bakhvalov, you should also pay attention to creditworthiness and reliability ratings, since a reputable organization is always rated.

CEO of the online lending service Boris Batin from MoneyMan adds that from January 11, 2016, all MFOs must be members of one of two existing SRO MFOs (self-regulatory organizations). It is also worth paying attention to the fact that a specific microfinance organization is on the SRO lists.

According to Deputy General Director and Member of the Board of MFO "MigCredit" Dinara Yusupova, important criteria for assessing the reliability of an organization are also the presence of a wide branch network and transparent lending conditions.

Helpful information: According to experts, the share of “gray” MFOs is about 25% of the total legal volume of the microfinance market. This is a very significant figure, but it is decreasing every year. Firstly, the activities of MFOs are controlled by the Central Bank, and secondly, market participants themselves are interested in clearing the sector of unscrupulous players.

Is it risky to take loans from online microfinance organizations?

MFOs operating online are subject to the same transparency requirements as all other microfinance organizations. Therefore, taking out a loan online will be dangerous if you do not know anything about the company.

Remember: when you take out a microloan online, your risks increase.

First, you may subsequently be required to repay the loan at a higher rate than previously agreed upon. You will have to prove your case in court, which will take both money and time.
Secondly, when receiving such a loan, you provide the lender with your passport, the data of which becomes available to potential attackers and can be used in a fraudulent scheme.

What do you need to know when applying to an MFO?

1. Similar to contacting a bank, first of all you need to decide: how much, when and how you will pay. Many companies have calculators on their websites through which you can calculate the payment procedure and assess your strengths and capabilities. You can also check all the necessary information with a call center employee or manager.

Boris Batin reminds us that before taking out a loan, you should first answer one question: what to do if you have problems with your job or other regular income? The loan will be beneficial if the borrower is able to adequately assess his capabilities and understands what the sources of loan repayment are.

2. You should pay attention to the interest rates. In the online lending sector they are lower compared to classic microfinance market players.

It is important for the borrower to familiarize himself with all the details, including the amount of fines and penalties for late payments. It is also worth remembering that the MFO transmits all information about the borrower and payment discipline to the credit history bureau. Thus, a delay in paying a loan to an MFO will ruin your credit history and may prevent you from taking out a loan in the future, both from a regular bank and from another MFO.

3. Always carefully read the loan agreement, as well as other related documents (for example, general rules for granting loans posted on all online MFO websites).

Advantages and disadvantages of online microloans compared to standard bank loans

The advantages of online loans lie primarily in the simplicity and convenience of concluding an agreement. If you have the Internet, you can submit an application from anywhere (from work, from home, while on vacation). There is no need to meet with a loan agent or go to the office. It will take just a few seconds to review your application, and you will receive an answer instantly. Applying for and receiving a loan will take about 15 minutes. There are no queues, there is no need to waste time and nerves collecting the necessary documents.

The disadvantages include high interest rates and small loan amounts. According to Andrey Bazvalov, MFO clients are ready to agree to such conditions because they do not have a credit history or it is damaged, or banking services are not available to them for another reason.

One of the main functions of MFOs is to provide loans for urgent needs. Microloans in general are not intended to replace bank loans, acting as an alternative only in a number of situations.