TOP PayDay Loans

1
Personal Loans Product Image

Personal Loans

  • Secure company
  • Quick and simple application process
  • Transparent about their services

Discombobulated mess would be a good phrase to describe PersonalLoans.com in its current state. Sure, they went a long way towards overcoming shortcomings that were present in companies that provided a similar service; however, there were things that made them seem overly suspicious. For instance, the word about them elsewhere on the internet made it seem like they provided loan recommendations to overseas entities. This is not a service that’s clearly described on their website. PersonalLoans.com needs to work to correct these issues and turn their public persona into a plus rather than a minus.

9.9

BEST!

2
Check into Cash Product Image

Check into Cash

  • A lot of useful services (such as bills payment and others)
  • Over 23 years of experience
  • Founding member of the Community Financial Services Association of America

Before you decide that Check into Cash is your ideal lender, you have to look at how they conduct themselves as an organization. Their reputation is backed up with an ample amount of reviews that tout their merits. The relationships that lenders have with lendees are tumultuous. These arrangements have a tendency to go awry, thus producing negative feelings on all sides. It doesn’t appear that there are many negative reviews for Check into Cash/ Having a lender that wants to advance the industry as a whole and please customers in the process is a win=win scenario. You should hope that your lender wants to exhibit this much effort.

9.8

Outstanding

3
Lending Club Product Image

Lending Club

  • They offer a lot of financial services (business and personal loans, auto refinancing, investments and so on)
  • They have good rates
  • Good privacy policy

Everything we read about LendingClub impressed us. Scrutiny is not a good thing for financial companies. A lot of the companies that fit into this category are unable to stand up to it. LendingClub is not one of those companies. Their hard work has made it so they can claim that they’re dedicated to excellence and have the results to back it up. The marketplace is so crowded in the financial industry that it’s hard to find a company on which you can depend. Dealing with a financial company is not a one and done scenario. LendingClub will impress you from the start and stick with you for the long haul.

9.7

Outstanding

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Lending Tree Product Image

Lending Tree

  • Accessibility; they have facilitated more than 55 million loan requests so far
  • A lot of loan options and additional services available
  • Free credit score

Why go to several different lending companies to get the financing you need when you could just go to LendingTree and get everything on your list? Simply giving the public applications they can fill out to get financing is one thing. Teaching them how to make informed decisions, even if these decisions go against your business, is something else entirely. LendingTree should be commended for having the integrity to not only want to give the public financing, but to teach them how to fix their financial lives as well. That’s what looking after the best interests of your customers looks like.

9.7

Outstanding

5
Loan Start Product Image

Loan Start

  • Impressive website
  • Easy to use service
  • Opt out of information sharing activities included
  • Secure service

LoanStart has taken the role of broker seriously. Their competitors sullied the reputation of loan brokers throughout the industry with their corner cutting ways. Luckily, there’s a company like LoanStart that excels in areas where their counterparts fall short or completely steer clear of. This company is perfect for anyone who’s just barely entering into the world of loans and wants to learn the ropes. Working with LoanStart removes everything that’s intimidating about these proceedings and forges paths potential lendees can follow to get the best deal possible. Chances are high that people who use this service will want to come back when they seek a loan in the future.

9.5

Outstanding

6
ACE Cash Express Product Image

ACE Cash Express

  • They don’t work exclusively online; they have over 1,000 brick and mortar locations
  • They cover a wide range of financial services
  • The application process is simple and quick
  • In business since 1968
  • Good customer support

Out of all the payday loan companies we reviewed, ACE Cash Express is likely the industry standard. They have a well-crafted portfolio of products that’s sure to meet the needs of a majority of their potential customers. Their offerings are more appealing than that of their competitors because it shows they want to meet the needs of as many customers as possible.

People who are in need of financing don’t want to have to go to several different companies to get it. They want to find a business that’s capable of delivering whatever they need. Their chosen company has to stick with them throughout all their financial endeavors. ACE Cash Express is the right company for anyone who wants to have a good long-term relationship with their lender.

9.0

Very Good

7
SoFi Product Image

SoFi

  • Offers a lot of financial services (personal, student, mortgage loans, refinancing, wealth management, etc.)
  • Easy application process
  • Some of the lowest rates on the market

Why stick with ordinary when you can reach for extraordinary? SoFi might not be as seasoned as some of their competitors, but that doesn’t matter. In the time they have been around, they have instilled a lot of confidence in the people who have decided to do business with them. As they progress in the future, there’s no doubt that they will built on the reputation for excellence they have established thus far. A company that has this much potential is one that should not be ignored. It’s recommended that you go with a company that has promise and hunger than one that has been around for long that they're more likely to take their customers for granted than make them happy.

8.8

Very Good

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Guide To Lenders Product Image

Guide To Lenders

  • Accurate and comprehensive database
  • Easy to use service

GuidetoLenders provides the public with a lot of information; however, they take more liberties with the information that’s provided to them. Saying that a person cannot withdraw their consent to have their information shared is wrong. Anyone who submits any information to any website should have the right to say how that information is used. Taking away this right makes the case that you should not have the right to collect this kind of information. Hiding behind complex documents will never keep the truth buried for long. Eventually someone is going to read between the lines and discover what’s happening.

8.4

Very Good

9
Money Today Product Image

Money Today

  • No minimum credit score
  • Your loan will be funded within days

MoneyToday gets the same ruling as ELoanPersonal and 100 Day Loans got before it. The results that you will get from this service will vary based on your financial circumstances. If you’re patient enough to make it to the end of the application process, you might be rewarded with the loan you wanted all along. There’s also the chance that you will leave empty handed or with a loan that’s nothing like what you wanted. You have to determine whether that’s what you want out of this arrangement. With other services, it’s doubtful that you will have any sort of guarantee; however, it’s good to know to that you at least have something to look forward to when everything is said and done.

8.2

Very Good

Last updated December 2, 2024

All About PayDay Loans

PayDay Loans

We have all found ourselves in a situation where expenses are mounting and payday is several days away. Prioritizing expenses in a household budget is a challenging undertaking, especially when the funds necessary to pay for everything aren’t available. Periodically, it’s possible to let certain expenses slide until payday arrives; however, the importance of other expenses can rise to the level where they’re an emergency. For instance, say that your car stops running and you need to get to work or your run out of food and dinner is quickly approaching. You’re not going to let these slide. That’s where payday loans come in.

What is a Payday Loan?

A payday loan is an advance a lender can give to a person’s paycheck with the understanding that the person will use their paycheck to pay off the advance. Unfortunately, this arrangement doesn’t always work out smoothly and the person who receives the advance ends up spending their paycheck too. Failing to pay off a payday loan in a timely manner is a tricky proposition because of the interest rates that are attached to them. These interest rates make the original loan much more expenses when it’s finally paid off.

Payday Loans and Risk

While there is a bit of risk involved with payday loans, you have to understand that every financial transaction comes with a certain amount of risk. It’s the responsibility of the people who are entering into these transactions to minimize the risk. If a person find themselves in financial predicaments more often than not, they have to take a look at how they spend their money. An inability to budget properly is more risky than anything that can be done in a bank or credit union.

Controlling Expenses and Budgeting

As life becomes more complicated, expenses have a tendency to spiral out of control if they’re not monitored. Budgets are subject to change and need to be altered depending on the circumstances in a person’s life. As income levels fall, the amount of money available in the budget and all reported expenses have to be decreased. Cuts need to be made to ensure that it’s still possible to follow the budget. Best laid plans have a tendency to go awry though. Disposable income isn’t possible if there are still expenses that have gone unpaid.

Alternatives to Payday Loans

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The key is to not let these desperate measures impact your long-term financial security. Rather than look for payday loans right out of the gate, you should explore all your options. If your current income is not doing the trick, you should explore additional training or education to increase your employment opportunities. If that doesn’t work, you could look for smaller interest loans. Avoid making things worse if your credit has seen better days.

Choosing the Right Payday Loan Provider

Payday loan providers are a dime a dozen. Though the herd has thinned in recent years, the landscape is cluttered with a multitude of different options. As with any kind of company, especially those that are in the financial realm, you have to be careful in your decision making process. Picking the wrong payday loan provider could make the experience as a whole much more demoralizing. Your payday loan provider needs to be an institution that’s genuinely interested in giving you the relief you seek, not a vulture who wants to make your terrible situation worse in an effort to enrich themselves.

Protecting Yourself against Identity Theft

Securing a payday loan requires the exchange of a considerable amount of personal information. In a world where our privacy is put in jeopardy on a daily basis, the population is broken into two different types of people. The first group consists of individuals who are diligent in protecting their personal information and the second is filled with people who don’t think that their identity can be stolen. People from the second group give their personal information to anyone who asks. Effectively protecting your identity involves exhibiting behavior that combines the best attributes from both groups.

Protecting Yourself against Predatory Lenders

A predatory lender is someone who pretends that they’re a lender who’s on the up and up when really they're willing to pull out all the stops to stick someone with a high interest loan they have no chance of paying back. The federal government has cracked down on unethical lending practices, but there are still a few unscrupulous entities that slip through the crack. Separating the bad apples from the bunch is easier said than done. They have an advanced knowledge of the system and know the best way to take advantage of any loopholes. Every person seeking a payday loan needs to report predatory lenders should they come across them and rigorously research the marketplace to see which lenders can be trusted.

Paying Attention to Your Credit Score

Very few of us have an understanding of our current credit score or what it means. We think that we’re financially savvy people when really our credit score is in smoldering ruins. The damage that’s done to a credit score could have been inflicted by outside entities or the result of errors committed by well-meaning creditors. Nobody will tell you that’s there’s something wrong with your credit score. It’s your responsibility to investigate and correct problems should they arise. A proactive approach is the best way to approach managing your credit score.

Conclusion

Much of the discussion surrounding payday loans is shrouded in doom and gloom. People feel like if they were to take out a payday loan, it would spell the end of their hopes for financial security. On the contrary, payday loans are a financial instrument like any other. You have to know how to use them the right way or not use them at all. A person who’s the victim of misinformation or refuses to do their homework often finds themselves in a world of trouble. Luckily, this is the kind of trouble that’s easily avoidable.

PayDay Loans - What To Look For

PayDay Loans

Evaluating payday lenders is challenging because each lender has a different approach. Plus, the people who are seeking the loans are looking for different things in their ideal lender. A big problem arises when people who are seeking emergency relief choose the first lender they find or the lender they saw on advertisement or billboard. While these lenders might have some merits, picking the first lender you find is the sign of an ill-informed decision making process. We sorted through all the lenders out there and came up with a list of the best of the best.

Establishing a Rating Criteria

Though payday lenders have their unique characteristics, they have many things in common. In order for prospective lenders to see which one is the best, they need to see these characteristics in an easy to use format. No rating criteria is 100% effective for each person; therefore, this criteria will be subject to change going forward. The payday lending industry has changed so much in the past decade and will continue to do so in the future.

Finding the Best Interest Rate

One big mistake you can make when pursuing a payday loan is taking any loan regardless of the interest rate. High interest rate loans are a trap. Those who decide that these loans are best for them end up having the hardest time paying them back. Any time you look at the paperwork for a loan and see a sky high interest rate you should turn around and avoid putting your signature on anything. You’re better off saving your money and taking the licks that come with not paying certain expenses than taking on a high interest loan.

Repayment Requirements

For some reason, some people who take out payday loans think they can get away with not paying them back. In reality, every lendee needs to abide by the repayment requirements established by their lender. Failure to do so will result in penalties in addition to the increased loan total that comes after interest payments are factored in. If you have a payday loan, you need to make it a point to pay them off in a timely manner, even if it means that you miss out on having any disposable income.

Customer Feedback

The internet has created an environment where anyone can tell the world how they feel about a particular entity. Some of this feedback is valid and worth considering while others come from people who have an axe to grind or felt like they needed to let their knee jerk reactions known. Newer companies might be too new to have feedback, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid them. You have to look at them based on their merits alone rather than what people are saying. The risk is higher in this instance; however, it’s better to know that the lender you’re choosing does not have a negative reputation.

Ease of Use

Financial conundrums are stressful enough as it is. The last thing people who are in a tough spot needs is mountains of paperwork and stipulations. The paperwork does come in handy to make sure everything is done correctly. A large amount of paperwork could signal trickiness on the part of the lender. A lender has the option to put whatever they want in their paperwork. You have to look at these terms and choose whether you want to agree to them. Lenders know what they’re doing, so they chances are slim that you could get out of an agreement after you sign it.

Help & Support

When you leave your financial livelihood in a lender’s hands, you should want them to have an open line of communication with you. Signing the paperwork for a loan and having them fall off the face of the earth is a nightmare scenario. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re current on your payments or not. You’re a customer of your chosen lender and they should be aware of your concerns and respond to them promptly. The speed with which they respond to you comes second to the effectiveness of their responses.

Loan Application Requirements

If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. That’s the same scenario for payday loans. A payday loan has to have some strings attached. If it doesn’t seem like there are any strings involved, you need to dig a little bit deeper. Lurking beneath the surface are the things that should give you pause. Predatory lenders are the ones who take anyone who wants to take out a loan for whatever interest rate they generate. They drop the standards to bring more people into their customer base. There’s nothing that predatory lenders want more than to see their customers become delinquent on their loans.

Learning Each Company’s History

The best lenders are the ones that are open books. They tell everything about themselves or make it easy for interested parties to fill in the gaps. Sometimes a single company portrays themselves as several different companies to create the impression that there’s competition out there. There’s very little information available about these imitation companies. The same goes for contact information. Would you want to loan money to someone you just met and avoids providing you with their phone number or email address? You want to know who they are from top to bottom to make sure they will pay you back in a timely manner.

Conclusion

Going into the process of pursuing payday loan, odds are you will have your own criteria in mind. You should never waver from the standards you established at the start of your process. You owe nothing to the companies that are in the business of lending you money. It doesn’t matter how badly you need the money. The money you receive will never be worth it if you go out of your way to compromise your financial security. A balance has to be struck between getting the money you need and doing things the right way.

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