Check Cashing Industry
Online Payday Loans: An Insiders Look from the Outside
By B2
Jan 9, 2003, 2:05pm

Online Payday Loans: An Insiders Look from the Outside

Are you considering getting a Payday Loan online? With a virtual cornucopia of online providers available making a choice can be a rather arduous and confusing process. So we decided to take on this monster of a project to afford you some ways to narrow down the list of providers. What makes a good online provider? Let's start with the basics. *Does the site have a real provider company name associated with it? You might be surprised to find out that a large number of websites that look like providers really are not! A large number of providers use what is called "Affiliate Marketing" to expand their reach. Some do this well by only offering a link from the affiliates website to theirs. But some put privacy and security at risk by allowing the affiliate website to collect your personal data and then transfer the information over to the actual provider. This in general is not a secure practice and should be avoided if at all possible. Along with affiliate marketing are sites that are not directly affiliated with a provider. These sites will collect data from you then market your information around to any provider interested in your portfolio. To identify who you are doing business with you can use these steps to assist you: 1. Look for an "About Us" link on the home page of the site. The "About Us" should contain background information on the company associated with the ownership of the website. This should contain items such as: Formal Company Name, Date or Year Established, State and Country where located, and maybe even ownership or management names. 2. Look for a "Contact Us" link on the home page. This link should take you to a page that allows you direct access to the provider via email, telephone, fax and postal address. If the link only opens your email system and does not offer you physical address and telephone information the site could be an affiliate marketer or a provider that may not be your best choice as they are limiting your access to them. If the page contains email, telephone, fax and postal address information and the company name is the same as the one represented on the home page of the website you are more than likely at a providers website. 3. Lastly look for the ownership information on the URL itself. This is a great way to assist you in establishing if the website you are looking at is associated with the provider directly. You do this by using a tool called WHOIS located at http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois . To use this tool you just enter in the complete domain name including the extension in the search box. It will look like this: domainname.com (but also can use all extensions such as .net, .org, etc...). When you enter the domain name and perform the search it will come back with information that includes: The Registrant of the domain name, Billing contact, Administrative contact and more. The Registrant should be the company that you are looking at doing business with or at minimum the address of the registrant or billing contact should be the same. If the domain name is owned by and paid for by someone other than the website it is representing this should raise a yellow flag of caution. *Does the site show you all associated fees without having to apply first? The site should give you complete disclosure of all fees and annual percentage rates without you having to become a member or having to apply first. *Does the site show you each state and country that the provider is licensed to do business in? The site should provide you with a list of states and countries that it is licensed to provide loans in. If it is a national company then it will show that it is licensed to provide payday loans in all states. This is critical for you to know as each state controls the laws and regulations for its own state. Some do not allow payday loans to be issued within their state. *Does the site have a Privacy and Security Statement? Sites that feature a privacy and security statement should include: How your private data is handled, Who has access to your private data, How to subscribe and unsubscribe from mailing lists and more. There should also be a contact name, address and phone number present for you to call and get more information about how your data is handled. *Does the site feature a higher payday loan amount than what you can get at your local provider down the street? While this is not a red flag it will give you a little insight into how the company works. In a state that has a regulated ceiling of $300.00 seeing a physical store with "Up to $500.00 loaned" should make you think "How can they do this?" The same applies on the Internet. This can mean that the site you are looking at is not in compliance with the states regulation, or the site is not run by a licensed check casher but maybe a nationally chartered bank. If the later is true you will be able to identify it by the disclosure information. *Does the site provide you with their state license number? In some cases this is a great way to identify who you are doing business with. If they provide you with their state registration/license number you can have increased confidence that the site meets with the state laws in which you are doing business with them. If they are a nationally charted bank they will disclose this as well in a manner similar to this: "Loans provided by XXXXXX National Bank". *Is the application secure? Security of your personal data is paramount with good online providers. They will use SSL technology to protect your personal data. But do not take a statement of "Secure Application" as the absolute truth. If you are using Internet Explorer you will see a small lock appear in the bottom right side of your browser when you are in a secure site. Some sites secure only the application so you may need to view the application to see this. As well look for a certificate of security. This can be done by right clicking on the application going to properties and then pressing the certificate button. Make sure that the certificate is current and that it is issued to the website you are applying on. *Does the site give you an option of applying by phone? While this is not a requirement it is a great service enhancement that allows you to gain access to the provider in the event that your Internet access has been limited for some reason.

So what is the Best Case Scenario when looking at online payday loan providers? 1. The site is owned and operated by the provider 2. The provider meets with all state regulations 3. The provider shows their license information on the site 4. The site is SSL secure and the certificate is for the domain name you are applying on 5. The site has a Privacy and Security Statement 6. The site provides you with complete contact information including business name, address and phone numbers. 7. The site discloses everything about the payday loan including fees and annual percentage rates. 8. The site has an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section that addresses everything about the payday loan that is not covered in the disclosure section. 9. The site allows you to apply by phone as well as by Internet.

Site Reviews (as of 01-2003) The information provided below is information collected from high profile sites as of 01-2003. Please note that we do not endorse or condemn any of the sites listed below but are providing the data as a tool to assist you in making decisions relative to online payday loan providers. For informational purposes only. This information is relative to data available prior to an application or any information being submitted. If none available it will state "Unknown or N/A". Definitions: URL - Website address and date that the URL was established Provider - The actual entity that the loan is issued from WHOIS - The actual owner of a websites URL SSL Certificate - The use of an SSL certificate during the collection of any user information and who the certificate is assigned to. Check Casher - Is the sites provider a known check cashing license holder Contact - Contact information includes Email, Phone and address. Or any individual part. Disclosure - Fees and APR disclosed prior to submitting any user information FAQ - Frequently asked questions about the process, the service, etc... Privacy - Privacy Statement Available Phone - Does the provider offer a phone in application License - State issued license data or banking information available Coverage - States each state and country that they offer the service to Ownership - The provider of the loan is the owner of the website

URL:http://www.cash-in-1-hour.com/ Date Established: Sun, Jun 16, 2002 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Salt Lake Financial Salt Lake Financial www.slcash.com NO Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership YES YES YES NO NO YES NO YES

URL:http://www.cashadvance.com/ Date Established: 03-21-1997 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown Money Lab LLC cashadvance.com Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Email Only NO YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://nationalpayday.com/ Date Established: 09-Apr-2001 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown Devidia II, Ltda nationalpayday.com Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Email Only YES YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.cash-reserve.com/ Date Established: 14-JUN-01 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown DigiMark Web Solutions LLC NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.quikpayday.com/ Date Established: 05-Apr-2000 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Quik Payday Inc. Quik Payday Inc. secure.quikpayday.com NO Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Email Only YES YES YES NO YES NO YES

URL:http://www.mypaydayloan.com/ Date Established: Mon, Oct 18, 1999 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown Zarvad III LTDA. mypaydayloan.com Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Email Only YES YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://yourfastcash.com/ Date Established: N/A Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown N/A NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership NO NO YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.mycashnow.com/ Date Established: 2000-12-19 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown mycashnow.com Inc. secure.mycashnow.com Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Phone Only YES YES NO NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.efastadvance.com/ Date Established: Sat, Aug 24, 2002 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown efastadvance Mark Koetting NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership NO NO YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.cashnet500.com/ Date Established: Wed, Sep 27, 2000 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher County Bank of Rehoboth Beach, DE CRA Services NO NO Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Phone Only NO YES YES YES YES NO NO

URL:http://www.ezpaydaycash.com/ Date Established: 24-Nov-2001 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher EZPaydayCash.com Pham, Dan NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Complete YES YES YES YES NO NO Unknown

URL:http://www.paydayloan.com/ Date Established: 20-Jun-1997 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Payday Loan Corporation Payday Loan Corporation paydayloan.com YES Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Complete YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

URL:http://www.fastcashonline.com/ Date Established: 03-Mar-1999 Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown Fast Cash Online.com NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Complete NO YES YES YES NO NO Unknown

URL:http://fast-funds-online.com/ Date Established: N/A Provider WHOIS SSL Certificate Check Casher Unknown N/A NO Unknown Note: YES or NO means if a service, information or process is available Contact Disclosure FAQ Privacy Phone License Coverage Ownership Email Only NO YES YES NO NO NO Unknown

Please Read: USE POLICY
The opinions and or comments contained in columns appearing in CLMman are the opinions of the writer of the column and not necessarily the opinion of Industry Pages, Inc. Industry Pages, Inc. does not support or endorse in any way the comments or opinions contained within a submitted column and in no way can be held liable for its contents.
By using CLMman you agree to indemnify Industry Pages, Inc., its vendors, partners, employees and associates from any issue arising from its use.

The articles themselves are owned and are the copyright of the writer of the article. The writer of the article has provided Industry Pages Inc. expressed written permission to have the articles available on the Industry Pages Network, CLMman and the CLMman Column Webfeed. Any use of the articles outside the CLMman system requires written permission from the writer of the article itself.

If you have any comments about this column please feel free to express your opinion in the Forums.