Payday loans are a type of loan that lend smaller amounts or micro amounts. The concept of smaller amounts is that they do not lend high amounts of money like the banks and the banks don’t lend out smaller amounts which is creating a gap in the market as there are people who need money for quick fixes. Payday loans have a negative reputation because of the way it operates, it lends money on high-interest rates with the least being 400% APR and can go even higher. People who indulge themselves in payday loans because they are in desperate need of money often find themselves in a vicious loop where they end up paying more in interest than the borrowed principal amount. If you want to know more about payday loans and their interest, check out https://tryascend.com/blog/3-month-payday-loans/.
Payday loans also don’t take credit scores into account and don’t contribute towards a credit score. The only requirement individuals who would like to borrow has to keep is that they should have a valid id proof, a working bank account, and a source of income that proves that they have some sort of income flow. Apart from that, generally, you would have to write an advance cheque with the due date of repayment as security.
The following is the list of the top countries where payday loans are legal.
Netherlands
The Netherlands has strict regulations regarding payday lending. As with everywhere, banks don’t offer small credits and the gap was filled by payday lenders, however, in the Netherlands, lenders have to acquire licenses and adhere with the government in interest rate capping.
United States of America
The United States is another country where payday loans have their market. However, it is not legal in the entire country as some states have banned it entirely and other states (around 30) are legally running it. Payday lending is regulated nationally in the country.
U.K.
The United Kingdom has also taken payday loans under its regulation. Due to the unethical practices of the money lenders, the Financial Conduct Authorities took the initiative of capping interest and other fees, also giving some relief features to the borrowers.
Canada and Australia also come under the countries where payday loans have found a market. However, these countries are lenient on the lenders due to some loopholes in the legislation. Nevertheless, these are some of the countries where payday loans have a good track record.