This concept of lending money to people based on their credit and previous employment records became popular in the United States of America as it provided convenience of
quick and easy loans to the borrowers. In exchange for this convenience the money lenders charge a higher rate of interest and high processing fees. Payday loans does not literally mean that the amount you borrow is equal to your month's pay, but it's named in this fashion because you borrow an amount that is enough for you to get you through to end of the month or rather until your next payday. Payday loans are legal in 37 states out of a total of 50 states in the United States of America.
These kinds of money lending practices are hugely criticized and discouraged all around the world, because to some they are forms of usury. One criticism of this kind of money-lending is that it is squandering the valuable assets or credit of the lower or middle-income class of people. People usually go ahead with
payday loans because the paper-work, procedure is almost non-existent, which makes it extremely favorable. What they don't realize is that the amount of fees and interest they're paying is exponentially more than what banks are offering. There was one such case in Illinois where the lender charged more than the allowed limit ($15.5 on $100 on 2 weeks basis). He was fined more than $200,000, the highest against a lender. The surprising thing to know is that these kinds of things happen a lot more often than you think. Some even charge $17.50 on $100. However, even considering this as 17.5% interest rate, it is still a lower interest rate than most credit cards making it convenient if one needs money and has no access to a credit card. Although, because these loans are much easier to get than a credit card, they should only be used wisely and those that do use them should understand exactly what they can afford and not choose to take more money than they can easily pay back.
Another criticism is that being a non-orderly system of money-lending, the lenders are not obligated to follow any regulations provided by the federal agencies. Let's say if the borrower's post dated check gets bounced for not having enough balance in the account, the lender will first ask the borrower to pay up. If the borrower is still not able to service the loan, to avoid any further hassle, the lender passes on the case to a third-party. Third parties usually carry out unconventional collection practices. Some percent of lenders also threaten the borrowers for check fraud.
Despite all the critique, payday loans bear some positives. Even though the fees and interests are pretty high, according to several studies, the profit percentage for the lenders is not that ludicrous. It's only about 10-12%.
People who have exhausted their options of money-borrowing, like loans from financial organizations, would take the path down the illegal road, if it wasn't for
payday loans. What is also worth noting is that in areas affected by disasters, natural or otherwise, the people are better off having payday money-lenders than not having them, according to a study. The same study revealed that areas having payday lenders, was less affected by alcohol and drug abuse.
So one can comfortably say that payday lending has its drawbacks. In spite of its drawbacks in times of emergencies and time shortage, payday lending can turn out to be pretty conducive for everyone! Like every other things Payday lending is good but comes with a price.
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