Pay check loan providers built-up about $82 million in costs from low- and middle-income Minnesotans between 1999 and 2012 – contains more than $a million from Duluth store – reported on a just recently released report by friends advocating newer limits of the debts.
But store and corporate officials defend their industry, noting it’s one of the most regulated in the nation, and far safer and cheaper than online and unregulated lenders. Payday loans typically are low-dollar, high-interest loans that require borrowers to pay back in full on their next payday. In 2012 alone, 84 payday-lending stores amassed $11.4 million in fees statewide, Minnesota Commerce Department data show. “What’s great about our customers is that I have a relationship with pretty much all of them,” said Andy McKinnon, manager of the Payday America branch at Pawn America on Central Entrance in Duluth. “They come in when they need us. We’re there for them.” But, according to Minnesotans for Fair Lending, a typical borrower in the state takes out an average of 10 payday loans per year. The average loan is $380, and the average annual interest rate is 273 percent. Continue reading “Pay day lenders: help and support or financial obligation lure? Paycheck lenders generated”