Some of the UK’s major high street names are in the process of forming a credit union to offer staff a cheaper alternative to payday lenders. Sponsored by the charity Retail Trust and to be launched later this year, retailCURe says it will bring responsible financial services to retail employees. New Look and Next are two retailers that have agreed to support the new venture, which has received start-up funding of £1m. Support has also been offered by Booker and Matalan, while John Lewis Partnership and Wm Morrison have been approached to provide the scheme with financial assistance. retailCURe says it will be accessible to the 4.8m people who work directly in retail or in related sectors of the economy, half of whom earn less than £8 an hour. It says people who borrow £400 over 30 days from a payday loan firm will pay £127 in, while the same loan from retailCURe would cost just £8 in interest.....Read more here