A 20-year veteran of the payday lending business, Lutz, owner of Fast Check Cash Advance in Newark, is in the process of trying to explain to her customers that a piece of legislation passed this week in the Ohio House of Representatives essentially will force her to close her doors. Fast Check Cash Advance, like most payday lending establishments, charges $15 for every $100 borrowed on a two-week loan, equivalent to a 391 percent annual interest rate. Lutz said her business monitors customers’ financial situations — making note of factors such as high rent or mortgage — and accordingly limits the amount of loan they can take out. My problem with these places are that most of the borrowers economic situation is not going to improve from pay check to pay check, so what is going to improve their financial situation next week that the borrower doesn’t have this week? Time is not a factor because you can use a two week loan period , a month period or a week period and the amount is the same. Read More