Our report is a comprehensive guide to the new realities shaping lender and borrower behaviours, drawing insights directly from interviews with 500 active borrowers.

• uncover four essential shifts in borrower behaviour and their implications for recovery strategies
• learn from real lender case studies and practical success stories
• access expert guidance on balancing regulatory requirements with commercial goals
• explore best practices for deploying innovative payment methods that align with today’s digital-first consumer expectations.

A fresh perspective on missed payments
The traditional assumption that a missed payment signifies hardship is challenged head-on. Instead, the report reveals that missed payments often result from timing issues – a matter of liquidity rather than financial distress. This subtle but crucial distinction invites lenders to reconsider how they engage with borrowers after a payment failure.

Borrowers managing multiple relationship
Modern borrowers are rarely tied to a single lender. The report delves into how most consumers now juggle several lending arrangements, spanning from personal loans and car finance to credit cards and instalment products. This multi-lender reality fundamentally changes the dynamics of repayment prioritisation and customer loyalty, making seamless experiences more important than ever.

Preference versus performance
Interestingly, the way borrowers say they prefer to pay doesn’t always align with what works best in practice. The report explores the contrast between stated payment preferences and actual repayment outcomes, highlighting why some popular payment methods may not always result in the highest repayment success rates. This has significant implications for lenders seeking to improve both customer experience and collections efficiency.

The untapped potential of digital wallets
While digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay have surged in everyday retail, their uptake in lending repayments has lagged behind. The report investigates why these tools remain underutilised and reveals their potential to significantly enhance repayment rates and customer satisfaction – when implemented effectively.

Shaping the repayment experience
The report also offers tangible guidance for lenders looking to streamline repayment journeys and support better customer outcomes. It sets out what a “modern repayment journey” should look like, from integrating multiple repayment options at onboarding, to deploying intelligent reminders and payment methods tailored to each borrower.

For more information, download the ‘UK Consumer Lending Payments Trends 2025’ report here.