Who Can Get Payday Loans?

Have you ever been hit with an unexpected expense—or various unexpected expenses all at once—between pay days, with no extra money to cover them? An unexpected expense can be a medical bill, a car repair or other major repair bill or an emergency overseas or cross-country trip to a funeral. Maybe you wrote a check months ago and forgot about it, and it’s about to get withdrawn from your account and you won’t have the funds to cover it. Perhaps you have a steady full-time job but you haven’t been able to save very much money for emergencies. These scenarios can happen to almost anybody, and one viable and convenient option is getting a payday loan.

However, payday loans are not for everyone. First of all, if you do not have a current job of some sort—even if you have a verifiable history of employment—payday loan lenders cannot consider your application because you need to prove you can pay the loan off on your next pay day in a job you have now, not a potential future job. Secondly, in order to qualify for a payday loan, you also need a bank account so the loan company can deposit the borrowed amount and can also withdraw the same amount plus the borrowing fee on your next pay day with a check you’ve written. In addition, there are a few payday loan lenders who may require extra collateral, like the title and registration of your car, for example.

While almost everyone who has a job and a checking account qualifies to apply for a loan, there are some exceptions. For example, even though the quick and easy application process requires no credit checks, some potential applicants may be denied the chance for a payday loan if they are considered to be a “risky borrower, someone who has a confirmed history of bouncing checks, based on running database companies such as ChexSystems or TeleCheck Recovery Services. If running a program like these proves that you have bounced too many checks, you may be considered too much of a risk for the lender’s standards and therefore denied a payday loan.

Yet, in spite of these minor restrictions, most people who apply for a payday loan—whether in person at a payday loan or cash advance store, over the phone or online—get approved for one and are able to effectively deal with the unexpected expense or unexpected expenses in a quick, simple and mostly hassle-free way. If you’re able to pay back the loan right away—generally, on your next pay day—then the fee incurred for the fast, convenient payment to help you out with your urgent financial crisis can be worth every penny and more.