50 Things To Know About Payday or Cash Advance Loans
1. Payday lenders typically charge an interest rate of anywhere from $10-$30 per $100 borrowed - or more - Borrowers are usually willing to pay the higher interest rate in order to get the cash fast. Payday loans are typically used for emergencies when cash is needed fast.
2. The interest rates charged on payday loans vary from 200-800% APR or more - The interest charged depends on the individual payday lender.
3. Most of the time, for cash advance loans, no credit check is needed for approval - Payday loans are approved based on employment verification, a current checking account & a few other factors. So, bad credit is not an issue for payday or cash advance approval.
4. Most of the time, a checking account is needed to obtain a payday loan
5. Most of the time, the borrower needs to be at least 18 years old and a US resident
6. Most of the time, the borrower cannot have any outstanding payday loans when applying for a new payday loan
7. Typically, cash advance companies look for borrowers that have a monthly income of about $1000/mo. or more
8. Payday or cash advance loan regulations and laws vary by state
9. Payday loans that are applied for online are typically deposited on the following business day into the borrowers checking account
10. Amounts of payday loans vary from $100 - $1500 (and in some cases up to $2500) borrowed at a time
11. Employment is required with almost all payday loan companies
12. When applying for a payday loan online, sometimes documents need to be faxed the lender - If the payday loan company does not require documents to be faxed in, but the information can be verified another way, the lender with usually post “no-fax”, “no-faxing” or “faxless” somewhere on their website to let the potential borrowers know that faxing documents is not needed.
13. Bankruptcy, bounced-checks, charge-offs and other types of credit problems, typically don’t prevent a borrower from being approved for a cash advance loan
14. Repayment options on payday loans vary from lender to lender
15. Typically, if the cash advance borrower is unable to repay the loan in full by the date due, the lender requires the borrower to at least pay the interest accrued
16. The approval process for a payday loan typically takes minutes to a few hours, even when applying for the loan online
17. Borrowers should NEVER have to pay an “application fee” to apply for a payday loan - This goes for internet payday loan companies also.
18. Payday or cash advance loans should not be used on a regular, repeated basis to support ongoing financial difficulties
19. Typically, cash advance companies have a loan limit where the borrower must borrower the money for at least 3-7 days
20. Payday loans typically have a loan limit of up to 2 - 6 weeks, depending on the lender and state regulations
21. In 2006, the federal government passed a law, labeling payday lending as “predatory” and made it against the law to charge a higher interest rate to military personnel than 36% APR
22. An employment check stub is typically used as verification of employment for payday loan approval
23. Borrowers who lack the funds to pay back the cash advance loan on time, risk a bounced check fee from the borrowers bank
24. Typically, when a the payday loan funds, the borrower writes a post dated check to the lending company for the full amount that will be due (loan amount + fees) - Internet payday loan lenders may have a different method for withdrawing the funds from the borrowers bank account.
25. Some payday loan lenders require borrowers to provide bank statements before loan approval - This is true of both online and offline cash advance lenders.
26. Check with www.us.bbb.org (Better Business Bureau) & search payday lenders online for reviews before borrowing - Online and offline payday loan companies are listed on the Better Business Bureau.
27. Social Security numbers are typically needed in the payday loan approval process
28. In many states, extending the payday loan is illegal
29. Payday loan lending is legal is 37 states
30. In 13 states payday loan lending is either illegal or not feasible with the current state laws
31. Some states have laws that limit how many payday loans a borrower can have outstanding at one time
32. Some states cap the number of payday loans a borrower can have per year
33. Some states have laws in place the help prevent borrowers from getting into a debt cycle that becomes almost impossible to get out of - Some states limit the number of times a payday loan lender can renew a payday loan, without lowering the interest rate and making a way for the borrower to be able to payday down or pay off the loan.
34. Payday lending is banned in Georgia and payday loan lending is considered a felony
35. Critics of payday and cash advance lending say that payday loans exploit borrowers financial hardship for profit
36. Proponents of payday and cash advance lending say that emergency loans with higher interest rates are fair considered the borrower typically would not usually have any other borrowing options because of credit or other factors - They also say that with the borrowers being higher risk, it’s only fair to charge higher interest rates.
37. Proponents of payday loans also argue that bank overdraft fees ($15-$30 per bounced check) are more costly, in many cases, than the fees charged by most payday loan companies
38. Payday loan lenders are limited by law to use legal collection practices and cannot attempt to collect the debt any more aggressively than any other type of debt
39. Proponents of payday loans also state that the processing costs of such short-term, emergency loans, require the loans to cost more with higher fees & interest
40. Here is a link to the FDIC guidelines for payday loans:http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/safety/payday/
41. A few banks are beginning to offer loans similar to payday loans for people who’s checks are deposited into their bank accounts automatically and regularly - The interest rate for these types of loans are typically 10% of the amount borrowed.
42. There are some alternatives to payday loans, but most of them have at least a slightly longer processing time - Other alternatives are personal or consumer (signature) loans from a local bank or credit union, loans from family or friends, cash advances from credit cards, bank overdraft protection, employer cash advances, car title loans & pawn shops.
43. Regular payday loan users run a risk of becoming dependent on cash advances and getting into a debt cycle that is difficult to get out of
44. US law requires that payday lenders must disclose all finance charges and the APR of the loan in writing to the borrower before the loan is funded.
45. If you must use a payday loan for a financial emergency, it’s best only to borrow the very minimum amount of cash you need to get by. - Avoid borrowing more than you need to help yourself avoid getting into a “debt cycle”.
46. To file a complaint about a payday or cash advance company, contact the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit www.ftc.gov.
47. To avoid needing a payday loan in the future, work on avoiding unnecessary expenses, make a budget and try to save a little here and there for future emergencies
48. Pay day loans go by various names - Pay day loans are often called cash advance loans, check loans, internet cash loans, online payday loans & check advance loans.
49. Consider all other options before deciding to use a cash advance loan
50. To avoid unnecessary use of pay day loans, consider talking to creditors to see if you can have more time to pay your needed bill(s) - If you can get your creditor(s) to waive your late fee(s), you might be able to get by without a cash advance loan.
