Credit Builders Inc.

Payday loans have been around ever since there were people with money to loan and people who wanted to borrow money. Sometimes they were called loan sharks, sometimes pawn brokers and today they are called payday loan stores.

Payday loans are small, unsecured loans granted over a short period of time. Depending on state regulations, payday loans can be for as little as $100 to as much as $1500 and are typically paid back over a period of 7 to 30 days. They are designed to provide emergency funding for expenses that need to be paid before the next paycheck arrives.

Everyone has found themselves in the position of running short on cash. People with good credit fill the shortage by using their credit card. People with no credit or bad credit use payday loans. On the surface this looks like a legitimate service that provides a source of credit to a population that would otherwise be without credit. Why would anyone think that this service is a rip off?

When a person is charged over 500% APR for a loan, many people will call it a rip off. Consumer advocates say the rates charged are usurous and unsupported. The industry says it needs the rates to cover the 25% default rate and the cost of running businesses in depressed areas. As a practical matter, a payday loan can cost $30 for every $100 borrowed. Couple this high rate with the fact that most of the payday loan locations are in poor neighborhoods, and it would appear that they are predatory lenders.

How do payday loan companies get away with such high interest rates? Who would agree to those kinds of terms? 83% of the payday shops are located within 1/4 mile of distressed communities. Compare that to 51% of credit unions and only 34% of banks. Payday loans can charge that kind of interest because nobody else is serving that community. The poor in this country are sometimes referred to as the unbanked. That is to say the banking industry does little to provide them with the same services as they do wealthier consumers.

Conventional banks are not competing for this lucrative lending market, yet. The loan amounts are too small and the turn around is too short. Also payday loan companies have made applying and approval exceptionally easy compared to a bank application and approval process. With a payday loan the applicant simply has to verify his ID, have a checking account, and have proof of employment. Applications are usually approved same day and the funds are wired to the applicant’s bank the next day.

The interest rates are outrageous. However, payday loan customers see the service as a real value. Where else can a person with no credit or bad credit get a loan to pay for an immediate need? Payday loans are simply servicing a financial market that conventional banks and loan companies believe is not profitable, otherwise there would be Bank of Americas next to every bodega in the poor areas of our cities.

Our economy is making payday loans even more popular and this time with a whole new group of people. With the housing meltdown and unemployment near 10%, people who formerly could rely on their credit card to fill the gap now find themselves maxed out or without credit at all. The loan companies realize this and are reaching out to this new market via the internet. Online loans work the same way as the shop loans only they are more convenient to apply for. Needless to say it’s cheaper for the loan companies to do business online than in a brick and mortar store.

If you find yourself in this “new” market catagory and you are considering using a payday loan, make sure you do your research. Interest rates between companies will probably not be different because they will charge the most allowed by your state law. The place to look for differences is in service fees and features. Read the terms and conditions carefully and fully understand the consequences of not paying the loan back on time. Make sure you can afford the loan.