Cash Advance, Payday Loans, Payroll Loans, No Fax Loans, Cash Advance Payday Loans – these essentially mean one and the same thing – they all refer to seeking a loan in advance of the next payday or paycheck. This is broadly called the Payday Lending industry and is a multi-billion dollar booming industry. Statistics on this are all over the internet, so the focus of this article is not to dwell into known facts.
The focus of this article is to highlight and clarify a few essential tips and information related to the Payday Loan industry. This article is structured in an Q&A mode so you can get the bottom line information quickly and easily.
What exactly are Payday Loans?
Payday Loans are short-term loans, provided as cash, in exchange for receiving a check or promise of payment from the borrower’s, by way of automatic bank deposit or a check held for deposit in future. The amount of payback is usually the combination of the amount borrowerd plus finance charges for facilitating the payday loan transaction. If the borrower is able to authorize automatic bank withdrawals, on fixed dates (usually the upcoming pay days), the approval rate for the payday loan gets better.
How are Payday Loans different from a Bank Loan?
Payday Loans are cash loans, where the borrower receives immedite cash, just as in any other loan transaction. However, there are differences. Payday Loans are provided by independent third-party sources, and can often be obtained without detailed documentation or other processes one might have to go through in a typical bank loan transaction. This does come at a higher cost, though, as interest rates are typically higher than those in a Bank Loan transaction.
The amount that can be obtained in a Payday Loan is regulalated, and typically ranges anywhere from $100 to $1,500. The time of repayment varies, and could be from two weeks or more. On an annualized basis, the APR of the loan can be rather high, with numbers in the range of 400% or more. Since these transactions are typically repaid in a very short period of time, this type of loan favors those in immediate need of cash with the ability to pay back the loan amount within the next few pay periods.
How does one acquire a Payday Loan?
There are a variety of sources, both offline and online, from where one could acquire a payday loan. If one has a bank account in good standing, and has a reasonablly good ability to pay back the loan plus finance charge in time, one stands a good chance of qualifying for a payday loan.
What to look for in a Payday Loan provider?
Ultimately, of-course and needless to say, what to look for in payday lenders are their ability to fund your loan and make available the much needed cash. But what you ought to seek in a provider is much more than that. Some of the factors that you should consider include:
Speed of the approval process
Documentation requirement
Confidentiality of the transaction
Maximum amount that can be funded
Cost of the entire finance transaction including setup fees, early payment fees, penalties, interest rate, settlement fees etc.
Security of the transactional process
When to borrow?
As with any loan, borrow only when you absolutley must. Payday Loans can be a blessing in time of need, but it does come with a very high price. So, avail Payday Loans only when you must and when you know for certian that you have the ability to pay back in time. The cost of not paying back in time can be prohibitively expensive, including closing the doors for you to loan anymore in future. And even if you do meet the above criteria, avail the loan only if you must and have no other reasonable means of acquiring cash any other cheaper means.
