One of the cornerstones of Washington’s latest financial regulatory overhaul is the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, an institution that will oversee most of the U.S. consumer finance market, including credit cards, mortgages and even payday loans. But in the end, will increased regulation help or hurt those looking for reliable credit options?

The executive director for the Consumer Rights Coalition, Gerri Guzman, explores this proposed regulation in a recent article and discusses how it could possibly hurt or help American consumers struggling to make ends meet and find reliable, safe credit solutions.

She writes, “When making policy that will change lives, there is no room for assumptions. Lawmakers need to talk directly to real consumers and listen to their stories. Not to the ’so-called’ consumer groups who pretend to speak for the consumer, but to an actual consumer who got a payday loan when his car broke down and he had no other way to get to work. And, to a consumer who needed a payday loan to pay for an unexpected trip to the emergency room. And, to the many consumers who carefully weighed their options for short-term credit — bouncing a check, overdrawing their bank account, not paying their bills on time — and concluded that a payday loan was their best, least expensive option.”

To read the article in full, click here.

For more information on the Consumer Rights Coalition and its goal of keeping reliable short-term credit options available to all consumers, please click here.

We recently sent a survey to consumers living in states where payday loan bans are currently being pushed forward in their state’s legislature. Here’s what they had to say about the proposed legislation and possible repercussions in a post-payday economy.

“A person’s financial issue is private unless the government itself is willing to give out easily accessible loans.”

“This is terrible. In a shrinking economy, wherein many more people are facing issues of credit worthiness, the availability of this service is important and vital to working class people, such as myself.”

“If the legislature is successful in their plan to ban short-term loan options, this would only create MORE of a hardship for those individuals that rely on them for unexpected emergencies – not less!”

What do you think about proposed payday loan bans in your state? Share your opinions with the Consumer Rights Coalition, an organization of over 100,000 Americans working to keep the right to short-term financial options.

Join today and have your voice heard!

With anti-payday loan legislation either already on the books or being proposed in many U.S. States, the Consumer Rights Coalition is helping hardworking Americans protect their right to reliable credit options.

Recent payday loan bans in states like Georgia and North Carolina have left many consumers without the financial options they need to cover emergency expenses between paydays. Not surprisingly, bounced check penalties, overdraft fees and bankruptcies have skyrocketed in these states in the years following short-term loan bans.

Now with more state legislatures – including Maryland and Arizona - proposing payday loan bans of their own, some consumers are standing up and telling lawmakers that they don’t want to lose one of their last remaining credit options. One grassroots organization that is helping these customers be heard is the Consumer Rights Coalition.

The CRC is made up of over 100,000 short-term loan users who are joining together to tell policy makers that laws meant to protect citizens’ financial health are actually hurting them by taking away a reliable and licensed financial product and leaving consumers with no choice but to rack up NSF fees or miss important payments.

If you have an opinion on anti-payday legislation and want your voice to be heard as well, join the CRC in its goal of protecting the financial rights of millions of hardworking Americans.

Join today!

We recently asked cash advance customers in Maryland, where anti-payday loan laws are threatening to take away consumers’ short-term credit options, what they would do without our emergency online services. Here’s what they had to say.

“The state I live in should not be able to control my borrowing practices. I have needed help to get through these difficult times… If I could not have access to quick money when I needed it, it would be devastating.”

“I would be faced with bank overdraft fees or some bills not getting paid, resulting in late fees or cancellations… a lot is at stake here!”

“There are no other ways to get short-term loans. That’s going to make it worse for the middle class people trying to make ends meet.”

“By attempting to protect those that need these services, [the state legislature] is actually hurting us and are cutting off vital resources at a time when there are no others. They have no idea how most of us live and how much we rely on this emergency cash service.”

Do you want your opinion on this matter to be heard? Join the Consumer Rights Coalition and speak up with others who are fighting for their right to reliable and regulated financial options.

As more states move towards pushing licensed and regulated payday lenders out of their borders, a report by the New York Fed shows that consumers in states with payday loan bans are actually suffering from more bounced check penalties and filing for bankruptcy at a higher rate.

A report filed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2008 studied the effects of payday loan bans in Georgia and North Carolina in 2004 and 2005, respectively. According to the report, consumers in these states bounced more checks, sent more complaints to the Federal Trade Commission regarding debt collectors, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy more often in the years following these bans.

Below are excerpts from this report.

“Georgians and North Carolinians do not seem better off since their states outlawed payday credit: they have bounced more checks, complained more about lenders and debt collectors, and have filed for Chapter 7 (”no asset”) bankruptcy at a higher rate.”

“On average, the Federal Reserve check processing center in Atlanta returned 1.2 million more checks per year after the ban. At $30 per item, depositors paid an extra $36 million per year in bounced check fees after the ban.”

“Total complaints against lenders and debt collectors [in North Carolina] rose by over a third relative to other states….”

“[Overall,] Chapter 7 filing rates increased… 8.5 percent [under the ban].”

To read this report in full, please click here.

With more states trying to put anti-payday laws on the books, it’s important for consumers to have their voice be heard and speak out for their financial rights. If you are in a state that is considering payday loan bans and value your right to reliable short-term credit, speak up.

Click here to contact your congressman and let your voice be heard.

Credit cards often get a bad rap for catching consumers in excessive debt – but there are some times when using them responsibly can actually be a safer and cheaper option than using debit cards, or even cash.

In the past ten years, debit card usage by Americans has more than doubled. Perhaps this phenomenal increase is due to debit cards being a safer and easier option than carrying cash and are assumed to get you into less debt trouble than overusing credit cards.

But are there times when using a credit card can actually be safer and save you more money? The answer is yes, in the right circumstances. From identity protection to earning rewards for your purchases, credit cards actually have the upper hand, when used responsibly.

To learn more about the debate between debit and credit, read on at CNN’s personal finance section.

Just remember, both credit and debit cards can get you in to debt quickly, if you’re not careful. Overdrafting on your debit card can cost $50 or more, even if you only go over by a couple bucks. A payday loan is often a more proactive – and cheaper – option, especially when you’re facing immediate money needs.