Many stories have flooded the marketplace pointing out one of the many options consumers have for a quick emergency loan. According to Fox Business News, iIncreasingly, banks are offering what they call direct-deposit loans, giving customers access to short-term advances.

Banks that offer these types of loans say their products are different from payday loans because they have lower interest rates than traditional payday loans, and loans are made only to existing customers. In most cases, customers can only borrow up to a maximum of $500, but some banks, including Wells Fargo, limit the loan to half of the direct deposit or $500.

But are they really that different?

“Depending on how long the loan is outstanding, the interest rate can be 300% to 400%,” says Lauren K. Saunders, managing attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. As soon as a direct deposit comes into the account, “which could be three days later,” the bank takes the money plus interest, she says.