First paragraph (and a few sentences) from a Credit Union Times article today, payday loans are cheaper for the consumer than overdraft protection:

If you’re going to overdraw your checking account by $100 or less, your most cost-effective bet is to borrow money from a payday lender, not to use an overdraft service or let your check bounce.

That’s the conclusion drawn from a recent study, “The Best & Worst Places for Overdrawing,” conducted by Lake Bluff, Ill.-based research firm Moebs Services.

“If a credit union truly wanted to serve its entire potential membership, why not act like a payday lender?” Moebs said. “Credit unions should go after the members who choose not to open a checking account because they’re afraid they will overdraw. If I were a credit union, I would get heavily into the overdraft business, go after the people with low FICO scores and lower my overdraft price.”