Not all loan providers adhere to the standards and best practices of the CFSA and/or follow state regulations properly. Be sure to ask about the standards and practices of any financial service providers you do business with, and be sure to ask for full disclosure of all terms and conditions. Also, consider the provider’s measures for your security, whether online or at their store.
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The Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) is the payday loan industry’s national trade group. The CFSA helps to promote appropriate consumer protections, enforce privacy and maintain exceptional professionalism. Check ‘n Go is a founding member, and Check ‘n Go’s leadership serves as active participants on the Board of Directors. Check ‘n Go adheres to, and in fact helped write, the CFSA Best Practices Guidelines, including principles that encourage full disclosure, truthful advertising and consumer responsibility.
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The payday loan industry is regulated by state and federal law. Members of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) encourage further self-regulation for the benefit of payday loan borrowers. Each payday loan provider has its own set of terms and conditions in addition to state, federal and CFSA rules. It’s important to know the basics about a payday loan provider so that you know exactly what policies it upholds. For example, if you choose an online payday loan provider that is not based in your state of residence and is not a CFSA member, it will have a significantly different set of regulations than a lender like Check `n Go, who abides by each state’s laws and the CFSA’s Best Practices. We even provide a list of what to look for when choosing a payday loan provider.

The payday loan industry supports balanced regulations that are in customers’ best interests. It strives for regulation to provide customers with privacy protection, to support customers’ right to alternative financial options and to give customers the freedom of choosing a payday loan provider that best suits their individual financial needs. The CFSA works closely with state lawmakers to ensure that consumers are both protected and empowered, while also giving payday lenders every opportunity to provide responsible financial solutions.
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The confidentiality of an installment loans transaction depends on the reputation of the lender. When lending online, security becomes even more crucial and depends not only on the provider’s policies, but on the structure of the company’s website. We use VeriSign to encrypt our customers’ personal information, and our servers are housed in secure facilities to prevent loss, misuse, or alteration of data. For the safest possible installment loans transaction, make sure of the following before borrowing:

Privacy Policy Every lender should freely provide you with a privacy policy, whether you borrow in-store or online. This policy should clearly and concisely outline all the ways your information is or isn’t shared with other companies. Online installment loans providers should make their privacy policies easy to locate and free to download.

Secure Site Online lenders should encrypt their sites to ensure your security. Check in the bottom right corner of your Internet browser for the lock icon, which means the site is encrypted and safe. You should also make sure your online transaction is secured through other reputable means, like with an Internet security and infrastructure specialist such as VeriSign. These additional security measures will be displayed on the site where you enter your sensitive information.

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If you just received a money order, you may not be familiar with this form of payment. Simply put, treat it like a check. Take it to your bank or credit union and cash it or deposit the funds into your account. Or take it to your local Check `n Go store and cash it! You can choose to receive your funds in cash, or have them loaded onto a prepaid debit card. Like a check, a money order must be endorsed – so you’ll need to sign your name on the back and provide proof of identity.

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Payday loan fees are regulated by state and federal law. Payday loan interest rates are expressed by using Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

Payday Loan Service Fees The amount charged for a payday loan is the total amount borrowed, plus a service fee. This fee is a one-time, flat payment that varies only slightly depending upon how much is being borrowed. Payday loan service fees are regulated and dictated according to state laws where the borrower resides. Payday lenders who practice choice of law are exempt from this regulation. When a lender practices choice of law, the fees are regulated by the laws of the state in which the lender originates, and not by the state where the borrower resides. Reputable payday lenders typically avoid the practice of choice of law.

Payday Loan Interest Rates United States federal law requires that the fees for any financial transaction be expressed to the customer in terms of annual percentage rate, or APR. The formula for APR assumes that that the loan will last a year or more. A payday loan is a two-week loan, so commonly seen APRs for payday advance loans are very high. This is because the APR is expressing the one-time loan fee in terms of an annual charge. Even though payday loans are not intended to be held for a year or longer, payday lenders express their fees in terms of APR to comply with federal law.

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Prepaid debit cards are simple to use and put you directly in control of the balance. A prepaid debit card holds only the amount a cardholder deposits, can never be overdrawn, and is accepted almost anywhere, just like a credit card.

If you’re thinking about getting a prepaid debit card, consider this:

• Because you don’t borrow funds with a prepaid debit card, there’s no interest to worry about and no way to damage your credit when using them.
• The initial and deposit fees charged by most prepaid debit card companies are much smaller than the cost of a credit card account, with no overdrafts, late payment fees or hidden charges.
• Prepaid debit cards do not link to any other accounts and do not affect your credit, so they are an excellent way to keep yourself safe from identity theft.
• In most instances, merchants accept prepaid debit cards in the same way they accept conventional credit or debit cards, even online. As long as the card has the logo of one of the common providers, such as MasterCard, it can be used anywhere that brand is accepted.
• Prepaid debit cards are an excellent way to monitor your spending. You can only spend as much as the account contains and no more until the next deposit. That means no overdrafts and no going over-budget.

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