Watchdog group wants to crack down on popular ‘paycheck advance’ programs

PITTSBURGH — With the price of housing, food and gas costing more these days, it’s sometimes tough to stretch our paychecks to last until the next payday.

This is one reason why “paycheck advance” programs have gotten so popular.

One watchdog group wants to crack down on these programs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now says those programs, either accessed by financial apps or offered by your employer, are actually consumer loans. So they are subject to the Truth in Lending Act.

That means companies and products that *make money available early* to consumers would need to disclose the additional costs or fees incurred, and those can add up!

Some banking experts say the fees can translate to interest rates of more than 330%.

Federal officials are taking comments until the end of next month on the proposed rule and could finalize a change by the end of the year.

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