Comment of the Day
September 21, 2009 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)As an analyst covering the bank industry, the interesting thing to me is that payday lenders are routinely vilified while bankers are often regarded as pillars of the community, despite the fact that standard bank overdraft practices are far less consumer-friendly than payday loans. The debate over payday lending is relevant because bank overdraft charges effectively form the umbrella under which payday lenders can function. Far more than banks care to admit, overdrafts and payday loans are substitute products. In fact, the biggest difference is that payday lenders offer consumers a better deal than banks do. The typical payday loan costs a fee equal to 15% of the amount borrowed for a two-week loan, which equates to an APR of 391%. Borrowers must actively seek out payday loans, and the terms and conditions are all laid out immediately prior to the transaction. In contrast, the effective APR on a typical overdraft transaction can exceed 1000% (it varies by type of transaction – check/ATM/debit) and disclosure, while excellent at some institutions, is broadly far inferior to that of the payday loan industry.
Comments»
No comments yet.