Cash-strapped consumers that turn to payday loans to solve their short-term financial needs frequently have little realistic chance of paying them off on time, according to a new study. A report issued Wednesday by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts found that just 14 percent of borrowers nationwide can afford to pay off the average payday loan when it comes due. Consequently, most borrowers end up renewing their loans or, alternatively, paying them off and then quickly taking out a new one. “Payday loans are unaffordable,” Nick Bourke, director of Pew’s Safe Small-Dollar Loans Research Project, told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. “Renewing a payday...
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