According to a ComRes poll, just 6% of those surveyed were likely to take out a payday or other short-term high-interest loan in the next six months. In a similar poll conducted in 2012, 11% said they were likely to do so.

Younger Brits were most likely to say they would take out a loan, with 15% of 18-24 year-olds expecting to do so in the next six months. However, this is still significantly lower than the 26% who expressed the same opinion last year.

Payday lenders have faced criticism from consumer groups and politicians as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Last month the government announced plans to cap interest rates on payday loans.

Many brokers have reported struggling to place clients with a record of taking out payday or other short-term high-interest loans. Despite this, Mortgage Solutions found one short-term high-interest lender marketing its loans as “credit-building”.