California Payday Loan Reviews
Need a small short-term loan, just until next pay day? For many people, their bank will not be the best answer. Banks generally just don't deal in loan amounts less than $500, and the loan process is lengthy, requiring credit checks and collateral. That's where payday loans come in. As a California resident, you can get a payday loan for as little as $15.00 for every $100.00 you borrow. You get get cash on hand, and have it automatically paid back on your next pay day. We've reviewed a range of California payday lenders to help you find the best option for short term cash.
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Best BBB rating, 50% discount with coupon code: NEXTADVISOR50, repeat borrower incentives, clear website and 24/7 customer service |
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Company offers incentives for repeat borrowers after 5th loan, but loan period is shorter; BBB score could be higher; 15% off with coupon code |
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Lowest minimum loan amount and very good BBB score, but company has a past legal violation |
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We do not recommend doing business with this lender: unlicensed, high fees, not based in the U.S. |
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With higher-than-legal fees and an off-shore operating base, we couldn't recommend this service less |
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How does a payday loan work in California?
Customers sign up with a loan provider, providing their checking account routing information as a guarantee. The loan company then deposits the requested loan amount (up to $255.00 in California). On the customer's payday, the lender charges the checking account for the loan amount plus fees. Those fees can vary by lender and customer, but the maximum fee per $100.00 in California is $17.65, an APR of 460.16% for a 14-day period. While that's a pretty big percentage, you are only borrowing for two weeks.
Fees and APRs
Traditional loans use an APR (Annual Percentage Rate) to determine finance charges. A credit card, for instance, may have an APR of 15%. Payday loans work by assessing fees per $100 borrowed. Since the loans are meant to be paid back over a period of weeks, rather than months, they don't use the traditional APR model. Nevertheless, you can compute an APR for a payday loan by multiplying the payday loan fee by the number of pay periods in the year. This helps give a you an apples-to-apples comparison between payday loans and other forms of debt.
Is a payday loan safe?
It's important to choose a reputable payday lender, one that's licensed to do business in California and has a good rating from the Better Business Bureau. But it's also important to think about your own behavior. If you think you can pay it off on your next pay period, and you just need to do it occasionally, it's ok. In California you cannot roll the loan over, so it must be paid in full. While customers can take loans from multiple companies, we don't recommend it: Those fees can really start to add up.
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