Borrowing a small amount of cash for a short period can be defined as a cash loan, also known as a cash advance. Cash loans are the same-day loans commonly known as payday loans or title loans carrying a very high rate of interest. These loans are issued based on a borrower’s financial ability rather than any other borrower’s assurance.
These are unsecured and short-term loans compared to other loans that should be repaid before the borrower’s next payday. For lenders, cash loans carry high risks since these loans are not guaranteed by collaterals and for this reason they charge a very high rate of interest.
Currently, in the country, there are more than thousand financial services that offer emergency cash loans services. Some of these services include Speedy Cash, TitleMax, CashNetUSA, Check City, Check Into Cash, LendUp, Metro Cash Loan, Advance Financial, LoanMart, Finova Financial, ACE Cash Express, TMG Loan Processing, Advance America, 100DayLoans, Fast Cash, Money Mutual, MyCashNow.com, Cash Today, etc. These are some trustworthy financial companies one can take a loan from.
Cash loans are an instant and easy source to get rid of small financial emergencies, such as unexpected car repair, minor health issues, emergency pet care, repairing household appliances, unplanned trips, etc. These loans are useful for covering short termed financial crises only and are unintended to be used against larger or long-term investments like a car loan, home loan, business loans, etc.
Before applying for a cash loan, it is necessary to examine the terms thoroughly. Before taking the sign for the loan from the borrower, the lenders must provide the annual percentage rate and all charges associated with the loan; however, this sometimes does not happen. Hence, one needs to be careful about several things, such as rate of interest, processing fees, etc. One should also remember that the interest rate is higher than other types of loans. These loans range anywhere from $100 to $1000, but the total amount varies depending on the state of residency. Typically, approval of cash loans happens instantly or takes an hour after submitting the application form through a manual or online process. One can apply for a cash loan over the phone as well. After approval, one can get the cash in hand on the same day; it rarely would take 48 hours to get the cash. Although it does not require a credit check of the borrower, some income verification would be involved.
These loans are for a short period usually for two weeks, and after this period, the borrower would have to repay the amount with interest and other fees. The APR (annual percentage rate) of these loans exceeds 200%, and the finance charge ranges from $15 to $30 against a borrowing amount of $100. If the loan period is less than two weeks, the APR will be higher.
Although cash loans are the immediate source of small financial crises, these have some major disadvantages. Following are some advantages and disadvantages of cash loans:
Advantages of cash loans:
1. Faster source of emergency cash. The whole process is very quick and simple—after filling up the loan application form, qualifying for a cash loan is very easy when the lender is genuine. Then within 24 hours, the borrower will able to know whether the loan is approved or not. So, cash loans are the best possible ways for emergency conditions where urgent cash is required.
2. No credit check required. When applying for cash loans, the lenders would not go through the credit history of the borrower. If someone has a very poor credit history, they can still qualify to get cash loans, but other loans validate for good credit score. Approval of a cash loan is based on the income of the borrower rather than credit history. Lenders of cash loans are focused on when next paycheck of the borrower will come.
3. The approval rate of cash loans is higher than other loans.
4. Cash loans help save money that can be used to cover the bills. With the help of this, one can avoid the extra charges.
5. No collateral is required for qualifying for cash loans. This means that in return for the loan, a borrower does not need to give up temporary ownership of a valuable asset till the loan can be repaid.
Disadvantages of cash loans:
1. The amount of the interest rate is very high which is the biggest disadvantage of cash loans. This rate is a bit higher than the rates charged by banks for other loans. Different lenders have different interest rates for these types of loans.
2. The repayment period is very less, lasting only a few weeks.
3. Late fees are sky-high. It is very much important to pay back the loan amount within the contracted period. If unable to pay within the specified time range, the late fees would be doubled. In these cases, including interest rates and late fees with a loan amount, the borrower has to pay double the amount that was obtained as a cash loan.
4. The loan amount is relatively small; it’s not helpful for bigger financial crises.
Before offering to the customers, the providers of cash loans or payday loans are subjected to go through some state regulations. These loans are not legal in all the states of the country. These high-cost cash loans are prohibited in twelve states. The twelve states of the US, which haven’t authorized cash loans include Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.
In Montana, New Hampshire, and Ohio, cash loans are legal and available at a very low cost.
38 states in the country have legal permission to provide cash loans under certain conditions; some of these include the following:
- Alaska,
- Alabama,
- California,
- Colorado,
- Delaware,
- Florida,
- Hawaii,
- Idaho,
- Illinois,
- Indiana,
- Iowa,
- Kansas,
- Kentucky,
- Louisiana,
- Maine (permitted for supervised lenders only),
- Michigan,
- Minnesota,
- Mississippi,
- Missouri,
- Nebraska,
- Nevada,
- New Mexico,
- North Dakota,
- Oklahoma,
- Oregon,
- Rhode Island,
- South Carolina,
- Tennessee,
- Texas,
- Utah (applicable to check cashers only),
- Virginia,
- Washington,
- Wisconsin,
- Wyoming.
