Payday loan applications have more than quadrupled in the last fortnight with women accounting for 60% of those applying for the product.
More than four times as many people applied for a payday loan in the last two weeks than in the whole of November, according to micro-loan lender Ferratum, which has had to take on additional staff to handle applications in the run up to Christmas.
The majority of people applying for loans are aged between 18-35 and more than 60 per cent are female, the firm revealed.
Ferratum also said it thought 2m people in Britain have applied for payday loans and cited a forecast suggesting that within six months the number will have risen to more than 3.5m.
Ian Porter, UK sales and marketing manager at Ferratum, said: “The level of applications has been phenomenal during December and particularly in the past two weeks.
“We have received four times’ as many applications in that period alone than in the whole of November. We have recruited a further five people to ensure that all applications are processed swiftly and efficiently.”
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