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In an effort to control the damage being done to individuals and communities by payday lenders, community activists rallied outside payday lending storefronts in 10 states Tuesday to increase awareness of the lack of protection many states offer individuals against purveyors of short-term, high-interest loans. National People’s Action (NPA) helped coordinate the protests along with several other organizations.
There were 11 actions across Idaho, Michigan, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Illinois and Nevada calling out the toxic effect payday lenders have on communities. Members wore hazmat suits and taped off payday loan stores as part of a grassroots movement that an NPA statement said was in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) providing “stronger protections against devastating loans.”
Thirty-five states across the country authorize some form of payday lending, and federal laws offer very few restrictions on payday lenders. According to an NPA press release, “Each year, payday lenders make more than $10 billion in fees by trapping an estimated 12 million consumers in a cycle of debt, with annual interest rates near 400 percent. Payday lenders have been known to use tactics like threats, harassment and intimidation in order to push customers to take out more loans.”
Payday lenders’ standard operating procedures are designed to bleed people as much as possible, said Liz Ryan Murray, policy director at National People’s Action. “Their business model is making you a loan and when you can’t pay it back they offer you another loan.”
“We’d also like [the CFPB] to look at where the money’s coming from,” she said, noting how payday lenders “pull the money out of people’s checking accounts whether they have it or not.”
Organizations invested in helping affected people and communities are pushing the CFPB to take concrete steps against predatory lenders. The CFPB is expected to make its first decision to regulate the industry in the coming days.
Participating organizations are against anything “that’s going to say maybe its OK or the first couple loans are OK. That can’t be on the table. Especially in those states where it has been effectively stamped out, a rule like that could open the door for them to get back into those states,” Murray said.
“We look at where payday loans are located and they’re highly concentrated in low income communities of color” Murray said. “I think that they’re preying on the most vulnerable, maybe the lowest political clout and they’re often the most desperate people. They deserve good credit just like everyone else. We often call it back-of-the bus credit.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the issue view NPA’s video on payday loans and view photos from Tuesday’s events. Please sign the petition telling CFPB to offer protections against predatory lenders and email alerts on different steps being taken to combat this issue here.
