Cash Advance

Cash Advance
 

Fast Cash Advances Online

Cash advances and lines of credit are usually unsecured loans. Typically, cash advance interest rates are lower than rates for credit cards. Cash advances are commonly used for small to moderate purchases and loan consolidation. When larger purchases are involved, you can get better interest rates by posting collateral. Credit lines are often used for emergencies or in lieu of credit cards.

We have all seen the advertisements for them. I’m talking about cash advance. They claim to offer an easy way out of debt. One company even says cash advance are “your cash solution”. These finance companies make it seem like free money. Cash advances are also called high-risk loans, loan sharking or cash advance loans. Cash advances actually are short-term loans with very high interest and in most states are perfectly legal.

Cash advances appeal to younger consumers, people with limited understanding of finances and those who are deep in debt. According to the FTC, cash advance lenders usually look for people who are high in debt or have a history of using high-risk lenders.

In recent years a number of cash advance lenders have extended their risk selection standards to attract subprime loans. Among the various types of subprime loans, cash advance are now offered by an increasing number of insured depository institutions.

Cash advances are small-dollar, short-term, unsecured loans that borrowers promise to repay out of their next paycheck or regular income payment (such as a social security check). Cash advances are usually priced at a fixed dollar fee, which represents the finance charge to the borrower. Because these loans have such short terms to maturity, the cost of borrowing, expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR), is very high for cash advance.

Borrowers who obtain cash advance generally have cash flow difficulties, and few, if any, lower-cost borrowing alternatives. In addition, some cash advance lenders perform minimal analysis of the borrower's ability to repay either at the loan's inception or upon refinancing; they may merely require a current pay stub or proof of a regular income source and evidence that the customer has a checking account. Other cash advance lenders use scoring models and consult nationwide databases that track bounced checks and persons with outstanding cash advance. However, cash advance lenders typically do not obtain or analyze information regarding the borrower's total level of indebtedness or information from the major national credit bureaus. In addition, lenders generally do not conduct a substantive review of the borrower's credit history. The combination of the borrower's limited financial capacity, the unsecured nature of the credit, and the limited underwriting analysis of the borrower's ability to repay pose substantial credit risk for insured depository institutions.

Federal law authorizes federal and state-chartered insured depository institutions making cash advance to out of state borrowers to "export" favorable interest rates provided under the laws of the state where the bank is located. That is, a state-chartered bank is allowed to charge interest on cash advance to out of state borrowers at rates authorized by the state where the bank is located, regardless of usury limitations imposed by the state laws of the borrower's residence. Nevertheless, institutions face increased reputation risks when they enter into certain arrangements with payday lenders, including arrangements to originate cash advance on terms that could not be offered directly by the payday lender.

Cash advances are a form of specialized lending not typically found in state nonmember institutions, and are most frequently originated by specialized nonbank firms subject to state regulation. Cash advances can be subject to high levels of transaction risk given the large volume of loans, the handling of documents, and the movement of loan funds between the institution and any third party originators. Because cash advance may be underwritten off-site, there also is the risk that agents or employees may misrepresent information about the cash advance or increase credit risk by failing to adhere to established underwriting guidelines.

Cash advances may sound like a good source of quick and easy cash. But the truth is these types of cash advance may push you further into debt. Ask yourself these questions:

• What are the total fees, the payback plan, and the penalties if you don't pay the quick cash advance back on time?
• Why do you need quick cash for emergencies?
• How can you get a loan that is less costly? Can you borrow from friends or relatives?
• Do you need to talk with a financial counselor to solve your money problems?
• How can you save $300 in quick cash in a savings account that would be for emergencies?
• Can you delay paying a non-interest-charging bill such as utility bill and make payment arrangements with them instead?
• If you decide to borrow money from a cash advance lender, make certain to borrow only what you can afford to pay back from your next paycheck.

Here is a typical example of how cash advance works: the borrower requests a loan for a short period of time, usually one to four weeks. They provide the lender with proof of employment and identification. In exchange for the cash advance, they leave a postdated check with the lender that includes the loan fee. The cost might seem low; maybe the borrower paid $115 to borrow $100 for two weeks. While this may not seem like much, if you calculate the loan cost in terms of APR (annual percentage rate) that $15 explodes to 360 percent interest.

If the cash advance borrower continues to have financial problems and cannot payback the loan as promised, the interest keeps building and so does the debt.

The Federal Trade Commission’s recommendation is to avoid cash advance. Here are some safer options for short-term cash advance:

Try a small loan from a credit union.
Ask for a pay advance from your employer.
Consider a loan from family or friends (be sure to have the terms of the loan in writing).
Use a credit card advance.
Request additional time to pay the bill from your creditors.
Becoming aware of your options before you need a short-term loan is important. Remember that spending more than you make is ALWAYS a trap, and cash advance are an expensive solution to a money management problem.

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