Payday Loans Blog

The state Legislature of Virginia has been trying to crack down on payday loans. They came up with a system that was a compromise to keep payday lenders in business yet put more restrictions on them.

But some payday lenders, at the moment the new system was put into place, left the payday loan business. They began offering revolving lines of credit, which is similar to payday loans, but not the same thing.

Now the state Legislature is close to passing a bill that would require lenders to choose payday loans or revolving credit. It may sound harmless, but their is potential for harm in this.

First of all, payday loans have gotten new restrictions placed on them in the state. Borrowers have to be put into a state wide data base, loans are limited to a certain number per year, etc. The reason lenders switched to revolving credit was to avoid the restrictions.

The only problem is that when many of them choose to ditch payday loans and stick to only this revolving credit, they will find that by the end of the year they will be regulated out of business. By then it will be tough to come back to payday loans as those who weathered the storm will enjoy most of the payday loan business.

This is just another example of how government doesn't need to get involved in the industry of payday loans. They are forcing business to change and adjust in order to adapt and survive. Is hurting business the right thing to do in economic times such as these?

The governmetn would do best to let payday loans regulate themselves. Competition drives fees and rates down. In such an environment, only the friendly, non-predatory lenders will survive. The government doesn't need to do for the industry what they would do themselves. Payday loans do not need to come under so many laws and restrictions.

It's so helpful to know where you can find a Utah check cashing service.  Check City offers convenient check cashing serivices and will cash many checks that traditional financial institutions won't.   

Sometimes you have checks that you get late on a Friday night, but have no where to cash them!  Many of the Check City stores are open late and some even stay open 24/7.  This characteristic makes it quick and easy to know where to cash your checks and know that it will be a quick and easy service.  To use these check cashing services, all you have to do is bring your check and a picture ID to one or the many Check City stores.  Our knowledgable staff will have you fill out a quick customer information form, and then, with a small fee, you can walk out with cash in your hand! 

Check City also makes it convenient by cashing almost any type of check.  This includes payroll checks, cashier checks, government checks, insurance drafts or checks, money orders, tax refun checks, personal checks, and out of state checks.  Check City provides an amazing service to those who are trying to find a quick Utah check cashing source.    

April is coming up and it is time for you to start looking for tax services in Utah.  Since Check City is one of the leaders in the financial industry, of course they will be able to help you prepare your taxes in addition to all of the other services they provide.

A friendly and experienced professional is willing to provide tax services in Utah at your local Check City.  They will guide you through the entire tax preparation process.  They will even do everything they can to be able to save you money.

The tax services in Utah at Check City are there to help you take full advantage of the deductions you are entitled to.  The best part is Check City can take away the waiting for your tax refund and set you up with a convenient refund anticipation loan.

It is also extremely important to mention that Check City will do all of this and charge you less than other Utah tax services providers.  Everybody loves better services for lower prices.

Time is running out for you to get your tax refund.  So hurry into your local Check City and get the best tax services in Utah.

Perhaps the most common, and often times only, criticism of payday loans is their high APR. With traditional business loans and mortgage loans having anywhere from 5-30% APR, its no wonder 400% APR sounds astounding. But its not as bad as it sounds.

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. Since most traditional loans are given for long periods of time, the interest you pay on the loan is measured by how much interest you pay annually. So if you have a 12% APR, then each month you pay 1% of your balance in interest. If you have $1,000 outstanding, then at the end of the month your outstanding balance will become $1,010.

Of course, your monthly payment could be something like $50, meaning next month's outstanding balance will be $960. After interest is added, your new outstanding balance is $969.60. You pay your normal $50 and eventually this cycle continues enough times that you pay off the loan in full.

Payday loans are very different. In essence, a payday loan is an advance on your paycheck. If you need money immediately, but aren't getting paid for another 10 days, then you can get your paycheck advanced to you for a fee. This fee is generally around 400% APR.

But what does this mean? It means in the 10 days you have your loan, you will pay about 11% of the loan amount in interest. If you borrow $300 for those 10 days, you will have to pay back $333 at the end of the 10 days.

So where does 400% come from? Well, if you had a payday loan out for an entire year at the previously mentioned rate, you would pay 400% in interest. Of course, the fallacy here is in measuring payday loan interest in years when loans last only a few days.

Payday loans are designed to be smaller amounts for short periods of time. The only way to make money of small loans for short periods of time is to have a high interest rate. Of course you will never pay 400% of your loan in interest, that's just what it makes out to be over the course of an entire year.

We don't measure our shoe size in miles, so why do we measure our payday loan interest in APR? It makes no sense whatsoever. Banks don't have to measure their NSF and bounced check fees in APR. Good thing too, because they are well over 1,000% APR! Yet no one accuses them of predatory lending...

The truth is the critics are just trying to find ways to put payday lenders out of business. They say payday lenders deceive people and don't want them to be educated about the "truth" of payday loans. Well the truth is that law requires the APR to be prominently displayed in any payday loan location.

Payday lenders are not afraid of the truth and would gladly have more people be educated about payday loans and understand how they really work...starting with the critics who want payday loans banned.

Herb and Marion Sandler, founders of Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), were featured in last Sundays 60 Minutes report on how the mortgage industry has set off the financial ruin of millions of American citizens.  The CRL is the main opponent of the payday loans industry.  Apparently their argument that payday loans are one of those "irresponsible lenders" was more than just a little bit of a hypocritical platform to stand on. 

Since the Sandlers refused to comment and repeatedly ignored and rejected invitations to appear on 60 Minutes, much of the interview was with Paul Bishop.  Bishop was a salesman at World Savings San Francisco Loan Origination Center, owned by Herb and Marion.  According to Bishop, the business practices at World Savings were less than satisfactory.  Apparently they started valuing quantity over quality.  

Their business practices became so corrupt that they actually sent out fliers telling customers that their income would not be checked by the bank!  Bishop commented that they wouldn't even verify income when customers would claim a certain amoun.  He said, "So I don't really need to know what you make.  I don't need proof.  You tell me you make $200,000 a year?  You make $200,000 a year." 

The report continues to look into lazy and inapproprate business practices-a lot of which showed themselves in World Savings.  I find it very ironic that the founders of the CRL, an organization that is apparently suppose to promote responsible lending and get rid of the "big bad payday lending industry", have been a good contributer to the downfall of the mortgage industry and the subsequent economic downfall.  

They were giving people loans who should not have been given loans.  Loan applications were altered by salesmen so the loan would be approved, but the customer was in no position to have such a loan.  Looks like the payday loan industry is leaps and bounds ahead of Herb and Marion.  Perhaps the CRL was just a ploy to make people think World Savings trustworthy and a responsible lender...

If you are in need of some fast money, go to your local Check City and get a payday loan.  When the bills need to be paid, but payday isn't for another week or two, there is help waiting for you.

Every once in a while, we get hit with something unexpected that leaves our wallets empty.  It could be anything from a medical bill, to an automobile repair bill, to an overdraft fee on your checking account.  Whatever it is, a payday loan can refill your wallet in time for any other expenses.

A payday loan is a short-term loan that usually only lasts for about two weeks, or until your next payday.  They don't require any credit checks at all so almost everyone can be approved.  The application is really simple.  When you go into Check City, the great customer staff will be happy to help you fill out everything you need.

At the end of the two weeks, the payday loan is due, so at this time you will have to give back the amount of money you borrowed plus a small interest fee.  Sometimes people think the interest fee on a payday loan looks high.  This is because it is calculated in APR, which stands for annual percentage rate.

Since a payday loan only lasts about two weeks but is still calcualted in APR, the interest rate appears high.  But even with an interest rate of 390% APR, the actual interest only comes out to be just over a dollar a day per $100 is borrowed.  Does a dollar a day for only two weeks seem like that much?

These loans were designed to help people in need.  They can only assist someone if they use it correctly.  So please, use payday loans responsibly.

The Center for Responsible Lending is probably the biggest critic of payday loans. Well as fate would have it, the founders of CRL, Marion and Herb Sandler, are in Time's "25 people to blame for the financial crisis." Seems those running the Center for Responsible Lending haven't practiced what they preach.

In the 1980's, the Sandlers owned World Savings Bank. They began to specialize in tricky home loans called the option ARM. The couple pocketed $2.6 billion when they sold their bank to Wachovia in 2006.

Unfortunately, losses on their loan portfolio caused Wachovia to implode. Seems the Sandlers really don't have a clue when it comes to lending. And they call payday lenders the swindlers?

These people clearly cannot be trusted. The vitriol and hollow rhetoric they have spewed about payday loans holds no sway.

Getting a prepaid phone card can be very beneficial.  It's just a matter of getting the right prepaid phone card for your specific needs, and getting it at the right price.

I was recently in Europe travelling around and decided to get a prepaid phone card so I could call home.  I stopped in at a local store and purchased a card.  The phone card was suppose to have one hour of talk time and cost five euros (about ten dollars).  However, when I got to my room and went through the automated prompts (which were in Italian), Iended up only get five minutes worth of talk time! 

This is something that we do NOT want to have happen to you.  That's why we offer the best deals when you are purchasing a prepaid phone card at one of our Check City stores.  We can help you choose the best prepaid card for your needs.  We will base the type of card on the places you call the most, what time of day you generally make your calls, and other factors that come into play when using this type of card.  

Check City knows that you need the best services available, and that's what we provide.  If you ever need a great prepaid phone card that is quick and easy to obtain, just walk in to your nearest Check City store and our friendly staff will help you.  Remember, if you have questions about prepaid phone cards in Utah, or anywhere else, please ask.  We don't want you to end up with a five minute card when you were expecting an hour!     

The Post and Courier had an interesting article today that called for greater restrictions to be placed on payday loans. The article claims that the recently passed bill is not harsh enough on payday loans.

Its mind boggling to continue to hear these petty arguments. The article cited "serial borrowers" who borrow a loan to simply pay off an outstanding one. They get caught in a debt trap and need to continually borrow more and eventually go bankrupt.

Or at least that is what they would have you believe. For ever "serial borrower" out there, I guarantee you there are 99 responsible borrowers. Is it the job of the payday lender to manage the finances of the borrower? 

Payday lenders have natural protections in place already. Most will simply not lend more than 50% of a borrwers income. This means they should easily be able to pay off the loan by the next paycheck. And if they mismanage their paychecks? Are payday lenders to blame?

You don't outlaw the sale of knives because someone can hurt themselves. Why outlaw payday loans because some people are entirely too ignorant to figure them out? Could the literacy rate in America be to blame for foolish borrowing?

We again call on lawmakers in South Carolina to examine the facts about payday loans and not fall for this empty rhetoric. Payday loans serve a needed function in society. 

In a story written by Roddie Burris for The State, in South Carolina, Rep. Harold Mitchell, a representative for Spartanburg, is fighting to prevent heavier restrictions being placed on the payday loan industry.

Last week the House passed a bill that would do just that. Mitchell is now giving information and reports to the Senate in hopes that the House is as far as the bill will go.  If it does pass, the bill would restrict borrowers from getting more than one loan at a time while allowing the amount of the payday loan up to $600, double the current amount.

While listening to arguments in favor of the bill, Mitchell states, “And there I was. I knew the majority of people using the industry were not those who are characterized as being victims.”

This is a huge argument for a lot of lawmakers who are trying to set greater regulations or eliminate the service all together. They say that the payday loans industry is “targeting vulnerable citizens”, but as Mitchell points out, that is just not the case.

Payday loans are a quick and convenient service. While they may not be the best option for some, they are the only option for others.  Companies like Check City encourage their customers to be responsible borrowers.  Taking away this service would only limit the number of responsible borrowing services.

Hopefully Mitchell will be able to show Senate members just how important payday loan services are and how they are a great benefit to the citizens in that area.