What can the UK and South Korea learn from each other about helping people in debt?
What can the UK and South Korea learn from each other about supporting people in debt?
That was the question at the heart of a recent visit to London and Manchester by Dr Eun-Kyung Kim, the newly appointed Chair of South Korea’s Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS), and colleagues from across the organisation.
For Toynbee Hall, the visit was an opportunity to build on several years of collaboration with CCRS and continue an international exchange of knowledge and experience around debt advice, financial inclusion and support for people in vulnerable circumstances.
Building an international partnership
Throughout its history, Toynbee Hall has brought people and organisations together to tackle social problems. The visit from CCRS was a strong example of that convening role.
Toynbee Hall and CCRS are founding partners of the Global Credit Counselling Alliance, alongside organisations from the United States and Canada. The Alliance creates opportunities for organisations working in credit counselling and debt support to share ideas, experiences and approaches across borders.
The visit followed a trip to Seoul in December, when Toynbee Hall had the opportunity to see first-hand how CCRS delivers credit counselling and debt adjustment at a national scale.
The delegation’s visit to the UK provided an opportunity to return that welcome and continue the exchange.
Sharing the UK experience
The visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of Debt Free Advice, a partnership of charities providing free debt advice across London and led by Toynbee Hall.
Alongside celebrating the partnership’s work, the visit provided an opportunity to introduce the CCRS delegation to some of the people and organisations shaping debt advice, financial inclusion and support for people in vulnerable circumstances across the UK.
Representatives from the Money and Pensions Service shared insights into how free debt advice is funded and commissioned nationally.
Policy in Practice demonstrated how data can be used to identify households missing out on support and help services intervene earlier.
UK Finance discussed persistent debt, overdrafts, credit information and how financial services respond to customers in vulnerable circumstances.
Christians Against Poverty shared its experience of delivering debt support through local communities.
Together, these discussions provided a picture of the different organisations, systems and approaches that contribute to the UK’s debt advice and financial inclusion landscape.
Learning from South Korea
South Korea’s Credit Counseling & Recovery Service operates at a national scale, delivering credit counselling and debt adjustment. Its integrated approach offers valuable perspectives for organisations and policymakers in the UK considering how people can be supported when they are struggling with debt.
The delegation subsequently travelled to Manchester to attend the Institute of Money Advisers conference. The conference provided another opportunity to engage with the debt advice sector and learn from the innovation taking place within it.
It was particularly encouraging to see Advisor Intelligence receive the Innovation and Impact Award. The award recognised work developed within Debt Free Advice to help advisers find reliable information more quickly and have better conversations with clients.
The value of international partnership
What made the visit particularly valuable was the way conversations quickly moved beyond formal presentations. Participants were willing to explore the detail, ask difficult questions and be open about what works and what still needs to improve.
Debt is shaped by different systems and circumstances, but many of the challenges faced by people in financial difficulty are shared across countries. International partnerships can help organisations see their own systems differently and learn from approaches developed elsewhere.
CCRS has since told us that the discussions are already informing its internal thinking. For Toynbee Hall, this is the real value of international partnership: not the number of meetings that take place, but what changes after everyone goes home. Through our work with CCRS, the Global Credit Counselling Alliance and our partners across the UK, we look forward to continuing to share knowledge, challenge assumptions and learn from one another.
