Not everyone agrees with conventional wisdom’s critique of the personal payday loans industry. That argument goes along the lines of it being an expensive way to borrow money, that the borrower should try to plan better and get lower-interest credit cards instead. You have to wonder if the people offering these criticisms live on Planet Earth.
The fact is that cheap, online loans are increasingly popular for a reason. Anyone who needs a short-term infusion of cash can sing on to their personal computer and get one. All that is required is that you have held a job for about a month or more. The application does not require producing documents – as was the case in the past, at old-school payday loans stores seen in shopping strip malls and other storefront operations.
Online loans are not only easy, but come with several distinct advantages that are winning a growing number of customers in the current economy:
• It can be a cheap loan – While the critics like to claim high upfront fees and interest rates with payday loans, two important factors undermine their position. One is that relative to other, alternative lending – car title loans, pawn shops and the “friends and friends of friends” approach – online loans are a pretty good deal, when handled correctly (i.e., paid off on schedule).
• Watch the penalties – That said, it is possible to screw it up if you do not keep a close watch on the terms and repayment dates. The repayment is usually a pre-authorized debit against your checking account, so be sure the money is really there on the repayment day or else you might suffer insufficient funds fees from your bank and additional penalties from the lender.
• It’s about convenience – The bottom line with cheap loans is that the application, approval and receipt of funds are all very simple to process and fast.