Pros and Cons of Payday Loans
Payday loans are cash advance or paycheck loans. They are loans given to jobholders who want fast cash for a temporary period.
Pros of Payday Loans
- You can get immediate cash to meet an emergency like unexpected medical expenses or breakdown of your car. You can utilize the cash to see the smile on your kid’s face while you are shopping on a holiday, and find yourself cash strapped. You can also use it for a special occasion like an anniversary to treat your spouse to a candle lit dinner at an expensive hotel or to buy expensive jewelry for her.
- Availability of the payday loan is fast. Nowadays, with the help of the Internet, online payday loans can be approved in 30 seconds without any credit checking. Within 24 hours up to $1,500 can be deposited electronically in your bank account.
- Instead of extending your hand for economic help to your friends or family, or asking for an advance from your boss, or increasing credit card dues, you can opt for a payday loan. The loan is given to you quickly, with the minimum questions being asked, without any hesitation, and without any untrusting glances.
- If you live from paycheck to paycheck, and need some extra money, then a payday loan is ideal for you. Your immediate requirement of the cash is fulfilled. You can repay the loan when you receive your paycheck.
- If you repay fast then the high interest does not pinch. The interest rate when annualized may seem exorbitant. They may be compared to payments made as fines due to bounced checks or late credit card payments. If a $100 check bounced every month for a year, then considering the NSF fee of $48, the amount comes to a huge 1,250 annual percentage rate. However, if you repay the loan fast, then the high interest rate can seem as a service charge for the facility of providing you with instant cash.
Cons of Payday loans
· The rate of interest is high. The interest rate on a short-term online payday loan can vary from 15% to 30% depending upon the lender, the amount loaned and the period the loan is kept. For every $100 borrowed, you may have to pay $15 to $30 as interest.
· Critics argue that brick and mortar moneylenders target the poorer segment of the society, as they are usually not well educated and they rarely understand the permutations and combinations between recurring payments, money loaned, and the period of the loan. Moneylenders are sometimes called as loan sharks due to the high interest rates being charged for both offline and online payday loans. Many states have usury laws that prohibit charging excessive interest. Moneylenders tend to bypass the laws by routing the payments through banks chartered in such states where no such laws are being enforced.
Being expensive, payday loans are best repaid fast. The more time is spent in repaying, the higher the interest payment goes. Hence, payday loans are ideal if you want immediate funds and have the capacity to repay it fast. If you want to repay it slower, using the credit card would be a better option.