Article titled “4 alternatives to payday lending“. This is one of those gee wiz articles b/c it’s so naive.
Let’s face it, if these four options were a better alternative, people would be using them.
If you can make money at 18%, more power to you. Let’s not confuse a good intention with the actual result. I hope they make numbers available after a year.
Family First Federal Credit Union has rolled out a new loan that will not
deny an applicant based on their credit score.The Credit Rebuilder loan
amount is up to $1,000 at 18% interest up to 12 months. Once the loan is paid
off, the member can qualify for an additional $500 totaling $1,500 on all new
loan requests. Applicants must be a member of the $169 million Family First FCU
for at least three months, have direct deposit and be employed for a minimum of
three months not including seasonal work.”
Now, we’ve seen this before and it’s ironic that you never hear a follow up story. In Illinois, South Side Community Federal received a $50k subsidy from Chase bank. The end result? They never tell you. The do offer a PAL (payday alternative loan). Here’s the catch: If your credit score is under 650, you have to put up $250 in cash as collateral to get up to a $500 loan.
You can read the full article in the Credit Union Times and get some commentary on Payday Pundit.