Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Why are online payday loans becoming more popular?

It is no surprise that in economically distressing times, hardworking Americans need to be resourceful at managing their bill paying. So the rise of payday loans in general makes sense. For example, if one member of a household is not working, his or her partner or spouse may still be employed. And yet, when an unexpected expense arises – such as something with their children, a broken appliance, a car repair or medical emergency – the need for quick cash can easily come up. They may not have a credit card or savings account, so the best source of funding might just be to get a paycheck advance.

But payday loans have been available in many forms for decades. Money exchanges or other types of retail stores have long offered people a way to get cash in advance of a paycheck. But to do so required traveling to the store, waiting in a line quite often, then transacting the loan through a thick glass window. It lacked privacy, the borrower may have been pressured to sign documents on the spot while people were waiting behind him, and it was hugely inconvenient to shop around for the best loan terms (in addition to interest rate charge differences, different lenders have different payback options, penalties and other fees).

Hence, the online payday loans stores have risen to provide a more convenient, safer and less time-consuming way to get instant cash. Where the retail stores often required faxing documents after you visited their locations, today’s Internet-based lenders offer faxless payday loans. And the process is quick: Signing on, filling out an application and getting a confirmation will engage the borrower for about fifteen minutes, sometimes less. Confirmation comes within an hour by e-mail, and the cash is direct-deposited by electronic funds transfers by the next business day. Users of online lenders for cash advances are like early adopters of ATMs – their parents and grandparents may have liked talking to tellers, but the convenience of electronic methods ultimately wins out.

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