Consumers and governmental officials alike in Canada need to address the question as to whether cash advance and payday loan in Canada services need to be regulated by respective provinces. Moreover, if quick cash loan and fast payday loan providers are regulated in Canada, what the possible affect on the consumer would be. Provinces within Canada were granted the ability by the Federal government in 2007 to regulate payday loan and cash advance providers in their respective provinces. According to Statistics Canada, there are approximately 1,400 fast payday loan and cash advance providers in Canada. In Ontario alone there are approximately 700 quick payday loan storefront offering prospective borrowers in Ontario these short-term cash advance services.
Payday Loans in Manitoba
In November 2006, Manitoba entrenched quick cash loan regulations, also called payday loans and cash advanced, into law. According to the Manitoba payday loan and ManitobaManitoba payday loan cash advance regulations also require that quick cash loan operations in the province also be licensed and bonded. This is in place to ensure that the fast payday loan providers operating in the province follow the regulations and to also ensure that they are credible. Once a instant payday loan has been processed the customer now has 48-hours to cancel their pay day loan, whereas before the borrower could not cancel. cash advance regulation, a quick cash loan provider can charge a maximum of 17% on loans up to $500. Additionally,
Payday Loans in Nova Scotia
Furthermore, after Manitoba enacted its payday loan legislation in 2006, Nova ScotiaNova Scotia payday loan legislation. According to the legislation, physical quick cash loan locations must not charge a prospective payday loan cash advance borrower more than $31 per $100 borrowed. Furthermore, the faxless payday loan and faxless cash advance provider must also be transparent, whereby the payday loan operation will provide full disclosure to the Utility and Review Board. adopted their own set of payday loan regulations. In August 2008, the provincial government enacted
Just by examining the payday loan cash advance regulations in both Manitoba and Nova Scotia, a trend begins to emerge. Although the crux of the quick cash loan legislation in these two provinces is the similar, the maximum amount of fees a fast payday loan provider can charge varies from province to province. Essentially, one can surmise from this, that there is no general consensus among provinces pertaining to the maximum amount an instant payday loan provider can charge on a short-term cash advance.
Prohibiting Quick Cash Loan Providers Will Have Disastrous Consequences
Undoubtedly, there needs to be payday loan legislation in Canada to ensure that the pay day loan operations that are unethical (these are the people that have given the payday loan industry a bad name) are not able to operate. However, to ban payday loans from operating in Canada or to cap the amount a payday loan provider can charge very low would force payday advance loan operations to close, which would be disastrous to the consumer.
Bounced Cheque Fees are More Costly Then Pay Day Loans
The Canadian payday loan industry has watched a handful of States in the US prohibit cash advance and quick cash loan providers from operating within their jurisdiction. As we have seen in the US, if payday loans in Canada did not exist, potential borrowers would be in a dire state. For instance, in each state where payday loans have been prohibited in the US, foreclosures have risen, meaning that people had to leave their homes because they did not have enough money to pay their bills. A pay day loan could have gotten them the cash loan they needed to pay their bills. Moreover, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of bounced cheques, which ironically cost the individual more in NSF fees from the bank then it would to receive a payday advance loan.
It is clear that the continued presence of Canadian cash advance providers is very important, but at the same time, regulation of the pay day loan industry is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the regulations are fair to both the consumer and the Canadian payday loan cash advance industry.
All over the world, people are keeping fingers crossed that the $700 billion financial system bailout works the way it is supposed to and eases the worsening global credit crunch and restores confidence in the markets. But while the government has been focusing its attention on worldwide fallout from the mortgage debacle and the Wall Street greed, another storm is gathering on the horizon.
With all that's happened since, it's easy to forget that back in August 2008 the U.S. Treasury Department stepped in to take the reins of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored home loan banks. With the country facing more than $12 trillion in residential mortgage loans, no one wanted to stand by while Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac goes broke.
But who is watching as the rest of the country goes broke? The U.S. is quickly moving toward the next financial credit crisisthis one involves credit cards, and it could be a problem facing millions of Americans, not just over-reaching homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
Charging the basic necessities
Consumer spending has kept the U.S. economy growing for the last two decades. In addition to shopping for homes they didn't actually quality for, consumers used their credit cards and revolving credit accounts to rack up more than $2 trillion in household debt. Where they once indulged in high-ticket items like electronics, plasma TVs, autos, and appliances, today they're forced to scale back and spend more and more on the basic necessities.
When cash-strapped families have a hard time making ends meet because of rising prices, they rely on their only alternativecredit. Consumers are pushing the upper limits on their credit cards in order to pay bills, feed their families, and gas up the car. Some even use their cards to pay their mortgages, and that spells disaster.
The lending industry, now barred from aggressively issuing sub-prime mortgages, has turned its attention to marketing credit cards with high fees, over-blown interest rates, and complex terms hidden in the fine print or written in obscure language. Unwary consumers are setting themselves up for future defaults, and doing it in record numbers.
Debt and delinquencies on the rise
Credit card borrowing grew at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in July 2008, up from a growth rate of 3.5 percent in June. But while the volume of credit card purchases continues to rise, on-time monthly payments are falling.
The percentage of people who were delinquent on their credit card payments rose slightly in the second quarter from the same time last year, while average debt per borrower jumped 8.6 percent, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion LLC.
For the quarter ended June 30, 1.04 percent of credit card holders were delinquent at least 90 days on one or more of their cards. That compares with 0.91 percent for the second quarter of 2007, although it did represent a decline from 1.19 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
The decline from the first quarter to the second quarter likely reflected tax refunds and economic stimulus checks. Since delinquency rates tend to be seasonal, they usually go down in the second quarter.
Late fees and sky-high interest ratessome as high as 24 percent or morekeep accumulating and threaten to keep the economy sluggish. Every dollar that goes toward paying fees and interest on credit card balances is a dollar that can't be spent at the grocers, the hardware store or Starbucks.
How did shopping on credit get so out of control?
Technology has made it impossible to escape the temptation to whip out those credit cards. Television commercials like Visa's "Life Takes Visa; don't let cash slow you down," suggests that cash is out of date. With e-commerce, retailers are now open 24/7. Home shopping networks and catalog 800-numbers let your fingers do the shopping.
Credit card companies market to our most basic instincts and appeal to the herd mentality that suggests, "If everyone else is doing it, it must be OK." And if mere suggestions offered through television commercials don't do the trick, there's always the direct approachan estimated six billion credit card offers hit the mail annually.
Debt and the job market
Consumers have been on a fast moving shopping spree that's about to grind to a halt. Wages are not keeping up with inflation and too many jobs are going by the wayside.
Higher prices and rising jobless rates are inextricably linked to loan defaults and credit card delinquencies. The U.S. Labor Department reported that unemployment rose from 5.7 percent in July to 6.1 percent in Augusta five-year high. Employers slashed 84,000 jobs in August, the eighth straight month of declines, with a total of 605,000 lost jobs for the year.
It's a vicious cycle. Employers get worried about the economy and their own profit margins and start cutting the workforce. More people have less disposable income and are unable to pay their bills, which leads to more mortgage defaults, more credit card delinquencies, less consumer confidence, and on and on.
But the worst is yet to come. There is a lag between the time someone loses a job and when mortgage loans default or credit card delinquencies appear, so we might just be seeing the tip of the iceberg. Moody's predicts household credit conditions will continue to weaken through the remainder of the decade, with another 5 million homeowners at significant risk of default.
Banks and lenders getting squeezed
Banks, already weighed down with defaulted loans, could face even more troubled mortgages on their books, as well as unpaid credit card debt. Credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard bear relatively little risk for defaults and other payment problems. It's the banks issuing the cards that assume responsibility for the debt.
Failures are expected to reach such a high level that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Washington-based agency that insures deposits at U.S. banks, may not be able to insure all depositseven with protection extended from $100,000 to $250,000 per account under the bipartisan rescue plan now in place. They already raised the number of "problem" banks to 117 in June, up from 90 at the end of March. Ten banks closed down in 2008, the fastest pace in bank closures in fourteen years.
Even before the Treasury Department's takeover of Fannie and Freddie, the two mortgage giants that own or guarantee around $5 trillion, or roughly half of the U.S. home loans, had been on a less than solid financial footing. The more mortgage default rates escalated, the more their capital base eroded.
The government's $700 billion rescue plan may help curb further deterioration in the markets, or ease the credit crunch affecting banks and major corporations, but not much is being done to ease other credit troubles. The big question: Will growing consumer debt lead to another round of massive losses and write-downs at banks and other financial institutions in the coming months?
Under the radar: Packaged credit card debt
Very little attention has been paid to the fact that, similar to mortgage-backed securities, credit card debt is packaged and sold to investors. The inevitable defaults could lead to big losses, not just for the credit card lenders, but also for pension funds and other institutional investors who are buying the debt.
The securitized debt backed by credit card receivables is a $915 billion industry. Increased defaults could unravel the whole game, just as delinquencies in the housing market brought down the $900 billion in mortgaged-backed securities.
Does this add up to an inevitable recession? You will get as many answers as the number of politicians and economists you ask. (As the joke goes, if you laid all the economists in the world end-to-end...they still could not reach a conclusion.)
Consumer debt going global
While we as nation seem only vaguely aware of this looming credit catastrophe, MasterCard has already set its sights on duplicating its U.S. business model internationally. Poised to take advantage of new and growing access to credit in countries like Brazil, Hungary, Poland, Russia, India and China, the credit card giant is anticipating a projected revenue growth rate of 39 percent.
Easy access to credit may be a compelling, albeit temporary, method to jump-start an emerging economy. It paints a rosy picture and offers promises of better living. But unless the populace of these countries is warned to use credit cards with discretion, shoppers globally will surely be lured into the same mistakes U.S. consumers make and quickly become saddled with the same kind of debt.
With money in the bank comes wealth and financial security. That means that to get there, you have to figure out how to save money - which most of us haven't done for years as we've run up credit card and loan debt! Now, we're struggling to pay off our credit cards, car loans and leases, and our overpriced homes. What everyone needs right now are some really great strategies to save money. When you think about it, the typical ways to save money haven't changed. Back in the 1700's, Benjamin Franklin first wrote "A penny saved is a penny earned", and today, hundreds of years later, it's still true!
In order to save money, all you need to do is live within your means, meaning spend less than you make. Then, put the difference into a saving account or other safe investment. It can be easier than you might think, if you simply break it into baby steps. Below are tips on how to save money which will get you fast cash in the bank. These tips are meant to be short so you can use them right away and see quick cash results!
1. The most important step is SPEND LESS. By spending more than you earn, you will never ever get ahead financially! So, just start by cutting your spending, and then put it into your savings account. You might cut spending just by not buying things you don't need, like manicures, takeout coffee, dining out, buying junk food at the store, expensive vacations, brand new cars, personal electronics - you get the picture.
2. Open A High Interest Savings Account. Today interest rates are fairly low, however something is better than nothing. There are many online savings accounts into which you can transfer money with a click of your mouse. Or, go to your local neighborhood bank and open an account there, so you can make frequent deposits in person! When you save in Step 1, you should put the savings right into this new savings account. Ideally, you should go open this account immediately, today! Keep this account separate from your checking, and put all your extra money from savings here. Is ONLY for your saving strategies funds. This account is set up so you can have a place to accumulate cash so you don't spend it.
3. Start Paying Yourself First. At every pay day, set something aside into your new savings account FIRST. Even if you don't think you have enough to pay all your bills, at least use direct deposit to put $10, $25, or $50 aside. As soon as your savings account is open, set this up at work, with direct deposit into your new savings account from #2 above.
4. Earn Extra Money. Any extra amount of cash you make put it toward your savings. Look for a part time job, or find some freelancing online, or offer your services in your local community. Or, hold a garage sale, sell some things you don't need on eBay or Craig list or Kajiji, and bank the proceeds. There is part time or contract work available online if you can write, or know how to build a Web page, or even can handle administrative duties; check out sites like GetAFreelancer.com or DoMyStuff.com. This kind of work can be done at home. The idea is, every little bit helps.
5. Finally, Do It All Together! Doing the above four steps means you are able to put cash aside from your paycheck, you are cutting your household budget by a certain amount (aim for at least 10%), and putting the extra in the bank. You can also set out to earn a couple hundred extra every month with side work. Before you know it, and within the year, you could have thousands saved! That's money you can use to save for emergencies like job loss, or learn to invest it prudently and start earning your way to wealth.
It is possible to save money, and these tips on how to save money show that little by little, you can build wealth in your life. One step at a time, you'll be on your way to financial security.
Possessing and using a credit card can be an advantage for our financial health. Many of us look at a credit card as something that can get us into trouble, as free cash or a trap. Let us look at this piece of plastic as a tool to be used to benefit our financial well being.
There are not many families that operate on a pure cash basis. Most of us have loans on homes, cars and student loans. Debt is part of our society. Being financially responsible with our payments is our goal. We make these payments on long term loans and credit is established. According to the credit reporting agencies, Experience, Transition and Equifax, we need fresh debt to keep our good score and make it increase.
Using a credit card for monthly budgeted items will satisfy this need. A card used for gas or groceries will certainly meet this criteria. Paying the balance at the end of the month will avoid interest charges and late fees.
A credit card is the best tool to keep our credit score healthy. There will be a time when we need this score to be optimum. When we finance a new car or buy a new house or do a major remodel. A good credit score is between 700 and 830. If we keep our score in this range we will be able to get the best rate on borrowed funds. Lenders look at the long term debt that we have but they also look at current debt and how that is being paid too.
Look at the credit card as a tool that can help your financial health. Do not let it be a burden and do not fall into the trap of paying interest. Take the mind set that you are in control and a credit card can be of great benefit. Pay your balance each month. This is an absolute must. If an emergency arises and you must carry a balance, make it a priority to pay off the balance as fast as you can. Using your card for monthly budgeted items only will give you a built in control. An axe is a great tool to chop down a tree, but it can also chop off your foot.