Edmonton, AB, April 27, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Cash Canada, part of the SMART Financial pawn group, is leading the charge to fight for pawn shops and lower-income families, alike. Through strict hiring guidelines and a strong focus on recruiting, training, and incenting world-class talent, as well as providing clean and well-lit stores, Cash Canada is dedicated to providing excellent customer experiences and challenging the idea that pawn stores increase crime, sell stolen goods, and prey on the impoverished. Cash Canada insists, emphatically, that their stores help families meet their short-term dreams — feed their children and keep the lights on.
Diana Machado, Cash Canada’s COO and popular mascot (the Pawn Princess), has taken an active role in the community, fighting for her customers. According to Machado, “We're providing a service to people who don't have access to conventional banking. The average loan is only $113. Most customers are families earning less than $70,000, and 82% redeem their pawned goods within a month.”
Cash Canada does not believe that the urban planning committee’s pawn shop associated stigmas and assumptions are at all accurate. Further, they believe that by restricting pawn shops' availability, they are impacting a much larger population than they realize. "I don't like the fact that some people think we're a derogatory business, that we're predatory lenders. We're not," said Machado. "I want pawn shops to be trendy and vibrant. ... We're providing a service to a very large sector in our economy."
While this will be a long-term fight for Cash Canada, and the entire pawn industry, industry leaders want to make sure that everyone is aware of the issue at hand. New regulations, through zoning, clustering regulations, and building design requirements, could threaten an industry providing a service to a very large demographic. Cash Canada is fighting negative sentiment from city officials to change industry perceptions and protect their customers, even though there is no evidence proving the suggested negative impacts of pawn stores.
For more information about Cash Canada, visit www.cashcanada.com or contact Diana Machado at 780-424-1080 ext 235 or email dmachado@smartfinancialent.com.
About Cash Canada
Cash Canada is the largest and most established chain of pawn shops in Canada, with 8 locations in Edmonton, 2 in Calgary and in Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Wetaskiwin, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Brooks, Saskatoon, and Prince George.
Source: Cash Canada
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