Foreign Perspectives

This is probably the worst time of the year in terms of bills with all the cost of Christmas just coming up and it’s not too long since vacation time either.

Add that all up and many people are finding that they’re short of money at the moment and looking around for a quick and easy way to raise some additional cash to tide them over until they get paid at the end of the month.

Therefore payday loans seem a very attractive option. They’re one of the easiest and quickest loans that you can get with the money deposited in your account within a few hours. Not only that but the lack of a credit check means that any credit problems that you may have aren’t an issue.

The requirements are really very basic:

1. You need income of at least $1000 per month.
2. You have been employed at your current job for at least 3 months.
3. You have had an active checking account for at least 3 months.
4. Your paycheck must be direct deposited into your checking account.
5. You are at least 18 years old.
6. You�aren’t delinquent on a previous payday loan.

Beyond that the only limitation is that the loan is intended to be repaid with your next paycheck (though it can be rolled over) and that the amounts are from $100 to $1500.

So that’s how they work, but is it worth getting one? If you can get the money somewhere else then no, they aren’t, because the costs are astronomical since all the administrative costs are being carried by what is a small short-term lone (hence the APRs of 300% and more). However, if you have no other option you need to weigh the cost of getting hit by late penalties on other finance that you have against what the payday loan will cost you and in such circumstances it may well be your cheapest option.