We’ve all seen the numerous influx of ads on TV. The ad usually consists of a person sitting on the couch in front of their TV, quickly applying for a loan for home improvements or car repairs using their mobile phone and BOOM! Money is in the account. Fast, easy, safe and secure. Only 4% monthly fee? What could possibly go wrong? Well On Road Finance is here to tell you that A LOT could go wrong, and fast! But first…
What is a Payday Loan?
A payday loan or a short-term loan is a small loan offered until you get paid. They are offered by privately owned credit providers (not banks) and can range between $100 and $3000 and are set up to be paid off from one month to two years. For most people, payday loans are used to save one from a desperate situation, when they really need the money right away.
The payday loan industry exceeded $1 Billion in 2018, with no signs of slowing down. With tasteless and aggressive marketing, along with easy to use websites and the promise of receiving money in a few simple clicks, a payday loan may seem like the perfect solution to your financial problems.
Here are the pros and cons of a payday loans.
PROS
Payday loan applications are quick. They can be made online and when time is of the essence, this process can be a life-saver. You can apply online, day or night, and get your answer right away.
Once approved, you receive the money instantly. Unlike traditional loans, when you need the cash as soon as possible, the payday loan delivers.
This is where the pros stop.
CONS
It’s expensive – The fine print that you can easily skim over, details exactly what these payday loan providers can implement if any of their loan conditions are not met. That 4% monthly fee you thought was too good to be true, can quickly balloon to an effective interest rate of 400% (or even higher).
Payday loans are predatory – Payday loans are viewed as a predatory loan because of the high costs that can escalate quickly. The lenders don’t check whether you’ll be able to repay the loan. If you can’t repay the loan, you’ll be forced to roll the loan over repeatedly, thus accumulating new fees and higher interest each time.
Your credit rating will suffer – Any time you apply for a payday loan, whether you accept the cash or not, your credit score reduces significantly. Almost all credit providers and banks in Australia look badly upon payday loan providers and any applicant who has every applied or utilised a payday loan (especially within the past 12 months) will be heavily assessed or even outright declined, no ifs or buts.
This means, the next time you apply for a mortgage, car loan, personal loan or any time of regular loan, the credit provider will notice the payday loan enquiry on your credit file and will do one of the following:
- Instantly decline you
- Ask for extra supporting documents (and you better hope they are 100% crystal clean)
- Increase your interest rate because of the risk involved
- Condition your loan approval with a large deposit to outweigh the risk
They don’t help build credit – Here at On Road Finance, we’ve had customers approach us saying they applied for a payday loan to help boost their credit. They thought that applying for a short-term loan and paying it off as fast as possible would help build credit and make their profile look nicer on paper. In fact, they did the opposite. Applying for a payday loan is detrimental to your credit file, no matter how fast you pay it off.
Payday loans are hard to come back from – It’s no secret that payday loan providers target low-income, minority communities. The number of households using payday loans in Australia increased by 55% between 2010 and 2015. One in four payday loan borrowers are behind on their repayments or in default. Studies have found that customers using payday loans don’t use the service once or twice but actually rely on the funds provided to get by, thus digging themselves into never-ending debt.
Final thoughts
In the last 6 years working as a finance broker, the number of payday loans evident on my customers applications has been increasing more and more each year. Some of these customers never even needed a payday loan and simply thought it would boost their credit score. The Australian public has been receiving bad advice from the payday loan providers and the government isn’t doing enough to educate consumers on the disadvantages of applying for a short-term loan.
At On Road Finance, we understand that you may have difficulties financially. All in all, payday loans can save you from a desperate situation when you need money on the spot. However, you must also be aware of the trappings of a payday loan, including the high-interest rates, possible extra fees and the way it may affect your credit score.
To do it the right way, without hurting your credit score, consider applying for a personal loan. On Road Finance provides personal loans from $5000 to $35000 for customers across all of Australia. You can learn more about personal loans here or by calling one of our professional On Road Finance brokers on 1300 518 580.