Payday Loans - Pros and Cons Explained

It is said that payday loans or lending is a controversial practice and faces legal battles and public perception challenges in nearly every state. Howver there are many good reasons for getting a payday loan also. One must be careful and know that they will be able to pay the loan back.  Only 37 states have payday loan stores. Many people opt to get their payday loan online because of this and it is the fastest way to go. Fast Loan for the Holiday's

Exploiting financial hardship for profit
Critics blame payday lenders for exploiting people's financial hardship for profit. Lenders target the young and the poor, particularly those near military bases and in low-income communities. Borrowers may not understand that the high interest rates are likely to trap them in a "debt-cycle," where they have to repeatedly renew the loan and pay associated fees every two weeks until they can finally save enough to pay off the principal and get out of debt. Critics point out that payday lending unfairly disadvantages the poor, compared to the middle class who pay at most 25% or so on their credit cards.

However, supporters argue that some individuals that require the use of payday loans have already exhausted or ruined any other alternatives. They may not be able to obtain a credit card, or rely on secondary sources (such as loans from friends and family members).

Aggressive collection practices
By law, a payday lender can use only the same industry standard collection practices used to collect other debts.

In many cases, the borrower has written a post-dated check to the lender; if the borrower defaults, then this check will bounce. Some payday lenders have therefore threatened delinquent borrowers with criminal prosecution, for check fraud. This practice is illegal in many jurisdictions and has resulted in regulatory action.

Pricing structure of payday loans
Defenders of the higher interest rates say processing costs for payday loans do not differ much from other loans, including home mortgages. They argue that conventional interest rates for lower dollar amounts and shorter terms would not be profitable. For example, a $100 one-week loan, at a 20% APR (compounded weekly) would generate only 38 cents of interest, which would fail to match loan processing costs.

Critics say payday lenders' processing costs are significantly lower than costs for mortgages and other traditional loans. Payday lenders usually look at recent pay-stubs, whereas larger-loan lenders do full credit checks and making a determination about the borrower's ability to pay back the loan.

Net profitability
A study by the FDIC Center for Financial Research found “operating costs lie in the range of advance fees” collected and that, after subtracting fixed operating costs and “unusually high rate of default losses,” payday loans “may not necessarily yield extraordinary profits.” Based on the annual reports of publicly traded payday loan companies, loan losses can average 15% or more of loan revenue. Underwriters of payday loans must also deal with people presenting fraudulent checks as security or making stop payments.

Critics concede that some borrowers may default on the loans, but point to the industry's pace of growth as an indication of its profitability. Consumer advocates condemn the practice as a whole, regardless of its profitability, because it "takes advantage of consumers who are already hard-pressed to pay their debts".

Proponents' stance
Proponents claim that cash advance loans provide a service that is not available from other sources. Many credit unions have attempted to offer similar products, but have been unable to do so without government subsidies or grants, a fact that many lenders and reports have highlighted. Furthermore, most of these programs offered by credit unions have ended due to the high default rates of lenders.

A staff report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that payday loans should not be categorized as "predatory" since they may improve household welfare. "Defining and Detecting Predatory Lending" reports "if payday lenders raise household welfare by relaxing credit constraints, anti-predatory legislation may lower it." The author of the report, Donald P. Morgan, defined predatory lending as "a welfare reducing provision of credit." Results of the report indicated that payday loans may actually do the opposite by improving the welfare of the consumer