People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A handful of small UK commercial lenders are offering interest-free loans to high-risk borrowers, as part of a government-backed scheme to support people through the cost of living crisis. Reuters has confirmed that Social Credit, a collaboration between commercial startup lender Plend and two nonprofit organisations, has been delivering interest-free loans as part of the scheme. A hole in the credit market, caused by the collapse or exit of many payday lenders such as Provident and Quickquid, has left millions unable to access loans. HARD TIMESFair4All told Reuters a portion of the 45 million pounds would be used to fund no-interest loans, and the rest allocated to other financial support measures.

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Persons: Henry Nicholls, Fair4All, TotallyMoney, Tom Lake, John Cronin, Cronin, Rishi Sunak's, Martin Coulter, Muvija, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, Fair4All Finance, Reuters, South Manchester Credit Union, Provident, Quickquid, Customers, Conservative, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, British