Wikipedia article:Payday loan

A payday loan (also called a payday advance) is a small, short-term, loan secured against a customer's next pay check. The loans are also sometimes referred to as cash advances, though that term can also refer to cash provided against a prearranged line of credit such as a credit card. Pay day advance loans rely on the consumer having previous payroll and employment records. Legislation regarding payday loans varies widely between different countries and, within the USA, between different states.

To prevent usury (unreasonable and excessive rates of interest), some jurisdictions limit the annual percentage rate (APR) that any lender, including payday lenders, can charge. Some jurisdictions outlaw payday lending entirely, and some have very few restrictions on payday lenders. Due to the extremely short-term nature of payday loans, the difference between nominal APR and effective APR (EAR) can be substantial, because EAR takes compounding into account. For a $15 charge on a $100 2-week payday loan, the annual percentage rate is 26 × 15% = 390%; the usefulness of an annual rate (such as an APR) has been debated because APRs are designed to enable consumers to compare the cost of long-term credit and may not be meaningful in cases where the loan will be outstanding for only a few weeks. Likewise, an "effective" rate (such as an EAR — ) may have even more limited value because payday loans do not permit interest compounding; the principal amount remains the same, regardless of how long the loan is outstanding. Nevertheless, careful scrutiny of the particular measure of loan cost quoted is necessary to make meaningful comparisons.


Payday loans carry substantial risk to the lender; they have a default rate of 10-20%, and according to one study, defaults cost payday lenders around a quarter of their annual revenue.

The loan process

The basic loan process involves a lender providing a short-term unsecured loan to be repaid at the borrower's next pay day. Typically, some verification of employment or income is involved (via pay stubs and bank statements), but some lenders may omit this. Individual companies and franchises have their own underwriting criteria.

In the traditional retail model, borrowers visit a payday lending store and secure a small cash loan, with payment due in full at the borrower's next paycheck. The borrower writes a postdated check to the lender in the full amount of the loan plus fees. On the maturity date, the borrower is expected to return to the store to repay the loan in person. If the borrower does not repay the loan in person, the lender may redeem the check. If the account is short on funds to cover the check, the borrower may now face a bounced check fee from their bank in addition to the costs of the loan, and the loan may incur additional fees and/or an increased interest rate as a result of the failure to pay.

In the more recent innovation of online payday loans, consumers complete the loan application online (or in some instances via fax, especially where documentation is required). The loan is then transferred by direct deposit to the borrower's account, and the loan repayment and/or the finance charge is electronically withdrawn on the borrower's next payday. According to one source, many payday lenders operating on the internet do not verify income.
 
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