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divdiv class=story-body readability=26 span class=story-date#13; span class=date25 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time02:32 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1The government is to introduce a new law to cap the cost of payday loans./p#13; pThe level of the cap, which has not yet been announced, will be decided by the new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)./p#13; pThe Treasury says there is growing evidence in support of the move, including the effects of a cap already in place in Australia./p#13; pThe cap will be included in the Banking Reform Bill, which is already going through Parliament./p#13; pSome payday lenders have been criticised for charging more than 5,000% annual interest - though the lenders say these loans are meant to be short-term so the annual rate can make charges appear worse than they are./p#13; span class=cross-head'Duty on regulator'/span#13; pAustralia has an interest rate limit of 4% per month, after a maximum up-front fee of 20%./p#13; pThe FCA has already been given the power to cap the costs of payday loans./p#13; pBut BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said Chancellor George Osborne had now gone further by placing a duty on the regulator to use those powers./p#13; pLabour leader Ed Miliband has already said his party would cap the cost of payday loans./p#13; #13; pMr Miliband has also pledged to give councils new powers to limit the spread of payday lending shops in town centres./p#13; pThe shadow minister for competition and consumer affairs, Stella Creasy, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the devil really is in the detail./p#13; pThe government is now talking about capping the costs of credit...the question is whether they mean capping just the charges or the total cost of credit./p#13; pThis industry's a bit like an inflated balloon and if you don't crack down on the whole cost of credit then wherever they can recoup their costs by expanding the prices at other points they will./p#13; pEarlier this month, Mr Miliband said payday lenders should not be allowed to target children by showing adverts on children's TV./p#13; pLast month the FCA told payday lenders tougher regulation would soon be implemented. /p#13; pIt said all borrowers should have an affordability check before being given a loan and suggested risk warnings should be put on adverts./p#13; div class=comment-introduction readability=-49#13; p class=introductionHave you made use of payday loans? What do you think of the government's proposals? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below./p#13; #13;/div#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center