Understanding the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009

Filed under Payday loans, February 20th, 2010 by admin

Because of the economic recession, many people are looking toward loans and debt management plans to help get through financial difficulties. One popular type of loan is the payday loan. Payday loans are small, short-term cash advances that are meant to help the borrower when he or she is in need of money but payday is still far off. The main idea behind payday loans is that the lender lends a small amount to the borrower and the borrower is obliged to pay off the loan upon the arrival of the next paycheck or source of income. There have been many controversies surrounding payday loans, including overcharging, extremely high interest rates, and fraudulent lenders. For this reason, there are now numerous laws enforced to protect both lenders and borrowers in the payday loan market. One bill that is currently being reviewed for signing is the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009. Read on to learn more about this act and how it may affect you as a consumer in the payday loan industry.

What is this Act all about?

The Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 was posted by Representative Luis Gutierrez and numerous other sponsors, including the Chairman of United States Financial Institutions. In the most basic terms, the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 makes payday loans more uniform and secure, avoiding usury, overcharging, and borrower abuse. The main idea of the Act is to break the often cyclical nature of payday loans. Through this Act, the APR interest rate is fixed at 15 cents for every dollar loaned or 48%. The Act also means that there will be a fixed repayment plan of 90 days, wherein the borrower is legally freed of any fees imposed by the lender.

What is the possible impact of this Act to the payday loan industry?

Overall, there have been mixed feelings about this Act. Although it is ultimately meant to increase the security and improve the structure of payday loans, some consumers and market specialists are against this bill. Some expect that the bill will have a negative impact on borrowers. One of the main reasons for these mixed opinions is because the bill does not propose any fixed, lower rates at the state level. Another concern of some analysts is that this Act does little to nothing to protect lenders. Because of the proposed reforms in this bill, it has the potential to put payday loan lenders out of business–a situation that would be detrimental to many consumer’s financial state.

Related questions:

1. What is the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009?
3. How will the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 affect the payday loan industry?

One Response to “Understanding the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009”

  1. Kaye Ann Roces says on October 1st, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Even Payday loans do have an act and its called “The Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 who was posted by Representative Luis Gutierrez and numerous other sponsors, including the Chairman of United States Financial Institutions. These make payday loans more uniform and safe that will prevent abusive acts from clients. The main idea of the Act is to break the often cyclical nature of payday loans. Thus, will help clients to have its lowest rate. But not everybody favors it because some believe that this not proposed any fixed, lower rate at its state level and lower protection for lenders. Whatever the reason maybe, the government should always decide what should be done and what is the right thing to do.

Comments