A new study shows, rather unsurprisingly, that people who take out payday loans often need more than one loan. By the time that someone is at the point that they’re looking to get an advance on money they’re already going to be receiving, and getting it at a stiff penalty, that single advance is not going to set things straight. The person getting the loan likely can’t afford the penalty to begin with, and what they’re most likely doing is deciding to pay penalty A (the high fees on a payday loan) over penalty B (the shutdown of utilities, ruining of credit rating, etc.). Should you need one more bit of evidence that payday loans are little more than modern-day financial slavery, there you go.
Now, the interesting part about all of this is that I logged into my bank account this morning. No, really, me logging into my bank is fascinatingly amazing.
I bank (well, now, banked) at Fifth Third, which notified me of a great new option this morning: Fifth Third Early Access. Were this a 1950s musical, you’d probably wander up to me dressed in your Sunday best and say, “Sir, that sounds fantastic! I do love accessing my bank, and good ol’ Ben Franklin himself said that bein’ early was great!”
And then, because I’m a cynical 21st century scam artist masquerading as the Good Humor man or whatever people in olden times bought their cocaine-laced sodas from, I sign you up for a direct deposit payday loan with a mere 120% APR. Details below the fold: