Payday loan Example

For example, a borrower seeking a payday loan may write a post-dated personal check for $115 to borrow $100 for up to 14 days. The check casher or payday lender agrees to hold the check until the borrower's next payday. At that time, the borrower has the option to redeem the check by paying $115 in cash, or refinance ("roll-over") the check by paying a fee to extend the loan for another two weeks.




If the borrower does not refinance the loan, the lender deposits the check. In this example, the cost of the initial loan is a $15 finance charge, or 124 percent APR. Many states do not allow rollovers or limit the number of rollovers but, for example, if the borrower chooses to roll-over the loan three times, the finance charge would climb to $60 to borrow $100.