This study proves that when faced with the exorbitant costs of bounced check and credit card late fees, thousands of Wisconsinites choose payday advances to help them overcome short-term financial emergencies.
D. Lynn DeVault, Board Chair, Community Financial Services Association of America

Sixty percent of Wisconsin residents surveyed view payday advances as less expensive than bank overdraft fees, and 40 percent believe credit card late payments are more costly than payday advances. These are among the results of a new independent study by Julie A. Urban, Ph.D. and Marzeih Bolhassani, Ph.D., both of the University of Wisconsin. Survey findings were released today at the 2009 Understanding and Overcoming Poverty in Wisconsin Conference.

The study also finds that the majority of payday advance customers choose the product due to an unexpected expense, and they consider other options, such as bank overdraft fees, auto title loans, credit card late payments, pawn shops and borrowing from friends and relatives before taking out a payday advance.

Of those surveyed, 83 percent have overdrawn a checking account, 59 percent have exceeded their limit on a credit card and 68 percent have been denied a loan, all in an effort to obtain short-term credit. An overwhelming 98 percent of respondents think money management courses are critical to making sound financial decisions, and 45 percent of those people believe that such courses should be taught as early as middle school.

"The need for short-term credit is indisputable," said D. Lynn DeVault, Board Chair of the Community Financial Services Association of America. "This study proves what short-term lenders have been saying for quite some time: when faced with the exorbitant costs of bounced check and credit card late fees, thousands of Wisconsinites choose payday advances to help them overcome short-term financial emergencies."