Payday Loan: A Healthy Alternative To NSF Fees?
We all know the payday loan industry gets a lot of scrutiny for it’s “high interest” rates, however I found this article very interesting about the annual percentage rate (APR) on returned checks.
According to The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), “the median interest rate on bounce protection loans to be in excess of twenty times that of payday loans.” When a consumer bounces a check, in essence it could be a lot more expensive for them to do that, than go get a short term payday loan. When a consumer bounces the check they pay a certain fee, and that fee is accumulated daily until the funds are sufficient. Unfortunately, this could sometimes cause a snowball affect, being that charge after charge could lead to more insufficient funds.
Payday loans might not be the only alternative, however a consumer needs to really look at the overall picture. They need to try and determine how they can prevent this sort of situation from happening again. Banks will make their money on fees, however there are certain circumstances that happen where you should look at alternatives that might cost you less in the long run.. like a payday loan, borrowing the money etc.
Leadpile Lead Exchange works with various lead types that deal with helping consumers be matched up with financial institutions to provide that service. Unfortunately, not all consumers reach out for help, and in turn get deeper and deeper in a “hole”. There are resources out there such as the payday loan that can be very helpful in trying times.
You’re right. Here’s more information about payday loans vs. the fees banks charge for bounced checks. Compare the fees of consumers’ short-term credit options: $100 payday advance = $15 fee; overdraft protection = $29; late fee on a credit card bill = $37; $100 off-shore internet payday loan = $25 fee; bounced check and NSF/ Merchant fee = $55. * *Source: http://www.cfsa.net/cost_comparison.html
When payday lending is banned, consumers face other, more costly short-term credit products available, such as: overdraft protection, late fees on credit cards and other bill payments and off-shore Internet lending.
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