Cash Pay Advance

Among the lawmakers in favor of reviving the notorious practice of payday lending in Georgia is state Rep. A new study released this week by the North Carolina commissioner of banks found that low- and middle-income families were not stranded by the exodus of the payday loan industry from that state in the last few years. But the payday industry is seeking to resume operations here, using its vast profits to hire lobbyists to sway such influential legislators as Brooks and House Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs). A bill sponsored by Ehrhart to revive payday lending was narrowly defeated this year, but he’s vowed to try again. For a typical two-week loan of $300, the $45 in fees computes to an annual percentage rate of 391 percent, even though Georgia law caps interest rates at 60 percent for most consumer loans. But North Carolina researchers found that financially strapped families were using other means to meet shortfalls, most of them far cheaper than getting trapped in an endless cycle of high-interest debt. Find Out More

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