 said that more than half of its members had suffered from an account closure since 2015 and that difficulty obtaining a new account was forcing firms to close and blocking entrants from coming into the market. Banks are shying away from the industry because of a perception that pawnbrokers pose a higher risk of money laundering — which the industry argues is mistaken — and because the cost of managing these perceived risks leaves banks with little economic incentive to provide accounts. 'It's putting pawnbrokers out of business,' Ray Perry, the head of the){kind=link}
The pawnbroking industry is wrestling with a debanking crisis that risks restricting the supply of credit to households that are struggling with the cost of living.
The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) said that more than half of its members had suffered from an account closure since 2015 and that difficulty obtaining a new account was forcing firms to close and blocking entrants from coming into the market.
Banks are shying away from the industry because of a perception that pawnbrokers pose a higher risk of money laundering – which the industry argues is mistaken – and because the cost of managing these perceived risks leaves banks with little economic incentive to provide accounts.
“It’s putting pawnbrokers out of business,” Ray Perry, the head of the
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