10 years of Good Money

GEELONG’S home of No Interest Loan (NIL) products for people on low incomes or Centrelink payments has clocked up ten years of service.

Good Money on Moorabool Street was the first of four branches to open in Victoria and a decade on its helped thousands of people gain access to finance for a vehicle, essential items like white goods, a hot water system, or in customer David’s case the dentist.

“Banks wouldn’t give me a loan after having an A1 credit rating and having worked…Good Money were good enough to give me a loan,” he said.

“Initially it was for teeth, dentures, which I didn’t have and for carpeting for where I live.

“It was massive, it was really, really purposeful.”

Backed by the Victorian government and run in partnership with Good Shepherd and the National Australia Bank, Good Money is a not-for-profit lender that provides safe and affordable loans for people who take home under $57,000 net, or are on a Centelink benefit.

The two loans on offer are up to $2000 for essential items like David’s trip to the dentist, as well as vehicle registration, furniture, laptops and other essential goods and services. The second NIL is for vehicles and allows clients to borrow up to $5000 for the purchase of a car, scooter, motorcycle or mobility scooter.
“People come in, we do an application, go through a budget of if people can meet their commitments, making sure we don’t put them into financial hardship,” community finance manager Jacinta Grigg said.

“There’s no cash, we pay for the items directly, we pay to the supplier.”

There’s also no fees or charges on the loans, so what the item or service costs is what the client pays back via directs debits or Centrepay.

Ms Grigg said the Moorabool location of the store was initially chosen because that’s where the payday lenders used to be, and Good Money was an attempt to counter this less salubrious side of the finance world.

“Since then, payday lending sort of changed its scope and there’s not as many as many shopfronts around and now it’s into that Buy Now pay later,” she said.

“We try to, you know, be a safe and affordable program for somebody to just walk in off the street.

“While we are providing loans, we’re also having conversations about what this expense is costing and where this is affecting other things in your life.”