MALG Community Catch Up: May/June 2026

In this edition:

Conference 2026: Alison Walters FCA Confirmed

Theme: Nobody Left Behind: Driving Systemic Change for People in Debt

Date: Thursday 12 November 2026 – less than six months to go!

Venue: St George’s Hall, Liverpool (opposite Lime Street Station)

Programme and Speakers: FCA’s Alison Walters confirmed. Other sessions will include:

• Future of Credit Information
• Marginalised Communities
• Misinformation
• BNPL
• & more – details coming soon!

Headline Sponsor & Exhibitor: CDER Group

Other Sponsors & Exhibitors confirmed so far:

• Dukes Bailiffs
• Wyser
• Lantern
• Experian
• Lester Aldridge
• PRA Group

Several Exhibition Stands and Sponsorship Packages are still available but please get in touch on info@malg.org.uk as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Other Upcoming Events

MALG National Members Meetings:

• Summer: Thursday 16 July 2026, Arboretum Leicester Square London – incorporating MALG AGM
• Autumn: Thursday 1 October 2026, via Zoom – please note change of original date

MALG Members Friday Forum (sponsored by PRA Group): Join us for a fortnightly drop-in session at 10-11am to discuss the latest issues you’re facing with professionals from across the whole debt landscape. Upcoming dates:

• 5 June
• 19 June
• 3 July
• 17 July

MALG Regional Meetings:

• South West, 10 June, Computershare’s offices in Bristol: ‘Supporting Customers Through Financial Pressure: Insight, Action & Partnership’
• North East & Yorkshire, 18 June, via Zoom: ‘Deep Dive on the Impacts of Gambling and the Role of Financial Services in Tackling Harm’
• Midlands, 29 June, via Zoom: ‘Focus on Financial Inclusion’

Find out more about our Regional Groups, including key contacts for each, here.
External Events: MALG CEO Peg Alexander recently attended the fantastic Christians Against Poverty Insight Day, celebrating the charity’s 30th anniversary of fighting UK poverty. She will also be at the AI Implementation Forum in Milton Keynes on 25 June 2026 where she’ll be talking about our recently launched research on safe and effective use of Gen AI in debt advice.

If you have not received invitations for any MALG events and think you are eligible, please contact info@malg.org.uk.

Buy Now Pay Later Research

A MALG-backed research project being carried out between September 2025 and September 2026 aims to develop a toolkit for use with over-indebted BNPL users or those prone to overconsumption.

Focused on the UK market, researchers from Swansea University and the University of Gloucestershire need participation from consumers and debt advisers to co-design, co-test and co-revise a free, accessible, and appropriate tool designed to address the challenges raised by the growth in BNPL lending by building users’ knowledge and resilience.

If you or your clients use BNPL services and have faced challenges keeping up with repayments, such as late charges or missed payments, we would love to hear from you. Your insights will help shape better support resources for consumers navigating financial struggles.

Podcast Episode 17: The Hidden Drivers of Debt – Behavioural Economics, Bias and the Social Media Effect

On the latest episode of the MALG Podcast, host Peg Alexander is joined by two formidable academic researchers with a shared interest in behavioural economics: Sharon Collard, Professor of Personal Finance & Research Co-Director at the University of Bristol Personal Finance Research Centre and Eileen Tipoe, Reader in Economics and Finance at Queen Mary University of London.

Together, they discuss their latest research into problem debt and the risk of homelessness and financial guidance on social media platforms and explore what their academic work reveals about the drivers behind real peoples’ decisions and behaviours when it comes to personal finances.

They cover everything from buy now pay later and subscriptions to finfluencers and financial literacy.

Creditor Email List for Debt Advisers

The creditor email list we created for debt advisers during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown is still being used and updated on a regular basis. We are now getting calls for MALG to front a campaign to get all major banks and other creditors to accept emails from advisers as a primary form of communication regarding client accounts.

This is something we are looking into and would welcome any input and support from Members. In the meantime, please keep checking and inputting into the list. Recent requests include direct email addresses for MBNA and First Direct.

Member Collaboration Spotlight: Policy in Practice & Welfare Together join forces to offer ‘last mile’ support

At the MALG National Members Meeting in May we shared this great example of MALG Members working together on an innovative solution to improve the lives of people in debt – and we want to hear more stories. Get in touch on info@malg.org.uk with your examples of partnership working with other MALG Members.