JUST as the payday loans sector begins to clean up its act, the industry has a new kind of parasite preying on the poor - the internet payday loans broker.

Although they do not lend cash themselves, a payday broker acts as an intermediary to find people a loan.

Operating via the internet, they model themselves on popular comparison websites by claiming to examine dozens of finance options to find the best deal.

They make a profit by charging a fee to arrange the loan and, to be certain they get paid, usually debit the money from a borrower's bank account.

In some cases, they charge a 'one-off loan matching fee' even if a would-be borrower is turned down.

Legitimate banks say they have seen a huge rise in complaints from customers who have been charged unexpected fees after using an internet payday loan broker.

User details are also passed on to other companies. Borrowers can be contacted via telephone, email, SMS, fax and post by other loan companies offering to 'help' - for a large fee, of course.

The phenomenon may be new, but online loan matching is already big business. NatWest said that during August it saw one million attempts by payday loan brokers to take money from its customer accounts.

Shockingly, most of these companies have been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under an "interim authorisation" process granted to 5,247 brokers when it took over from the Office of Fair Trading earlier this year.

A proper assessment process has only just begun. For the sake of people desperate enough to need a payday loan broker, it needs to be needs carried out quickly and with due diligence.