Pragmatic Solutions to Payday Lending: Regulating Fringe Lending and “Alternative” Banking

Author

John Lawford

Organization

Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)

Published

2003

Summary

This report is a follow-up to PIAC’s November 2002 Report: “Fringe Lending and “Alternative” Banking: The Consumer Experience” (“Report 1”). From that report, a much clearer picture emerged of the “alternative financial sector” (AFS). The November 2002 report analyzed survey findings of users of the AFS and made several recommendations for consideration by policy makers. This report builds on those recommendations and undertakes an in-depth consideration of possible regulation of a major aspect of the AFS, the payday loan industry, from a consumer perspective. This report outlines several possible options for regulation of the payday loans industry and highlights the advantages and shortcomings of each possible approach. The report is timely, as provincial and federal regulators are presently meeting to determine the scope and method of regulating the AFS in general and the payday loans industry in particular.

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database