Saint Mary's Academy

Almost everywhere you look these days you can find advertisements for payday loans. And like other financial products, you can usually conclude that the more a product is advertised, the higher the profit margins it provides for the seller.

To get a pay day loan come under the guise of a variety of titles including; cash advance loans, check advance loans, quick cash loans, post-dated check loans, and deferred deposit check loans. But no matter what they call it, the product is always essentially the same.

Payday loan is small quantity, short-term, high interest loans. The way they typically work is that the borrower writes a personal check payable to the lender for the amount they desire to borrow plus the “loan fee”. The lending company then gives the borrower the amount of the check minus the “loan fee” in cash. So for example, if you wanted to borrow $100 for two weeks you might write a check for $115 and receive the $100 in cash.

They are targeted towards those individuals who need a small amount of cash for a short period of time. In theory they might be helpful for a family who, for example had an unexpected expense arise this month that they had to pay for right away. This left the family short on funds to keep up with their regular obligations like rent and food. This is the rationale behind the loans and it is the opportunity for individuals to get access to quick cash without the need for extensive credit checks that make the loan, on face value, seem worthwhile.