Research

Payday loan apps, often marketed as Earned Wage Access (EWA) products, present themselves as alternatives to storefront payday lending that help promote financial inclusion. In practice, they function much like traditional storefront payday lenders, worsening wealth and income disparities by charging steep fees, encouraging repeat borrowing, and reducing future paychecks. Our research shows that the average APR for loans repaid...

The newest poll from the bipartisan polling team Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting provides fresh evidence that the overwhelming majority of voters across the political spectrum support the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and support regulating overdraft fees, credit card late fees, and payment apps. Among the findings of the poll: Over nine in ten...

The newest poll from the bipartisan polling team Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consultingi provides fresh evidence that the overwhelming majority of Americans across the political spectrum support regulating the financial industry and protecting consumers, including requiring smartphone app-based payday lenders, which call their product “Earned Wage Access” (EWA) products, to comply with a 36% Annual Percentage Rate (APR)...

Read the new paper that provides firsthand accounts and analysis of the challenges of purchasing a car in today’s economy, particularly for borrowers with lower incomes or subprime credit scores.

Payday loan apps, often marketed as a low-cost or even “free” way to access wages early, are anything but. This one-pager explains how common features, such as expedite fees, so-called “tips,” and repeated small-dollar transactions, drive up the true cost of borrowing, resulting in triple-digit annual percentage rates for many users. This resource shows how the business model depends on...

Read our new analysis of borrowers caught in an unaffordable cycle of refinancing, including instances of refinancing two to three months after taking out an OppFi loan.

A recent study (commissioned by EarnIn) analyzing data from EarnIn’s Cash Out product has been promoted as evidence that the payday lending app marketed as earned wage access (“EWA”) improves workers’ financial stability by increasing income. A closer reading of the study, however, reveals the opposite: the reported income increase is likely driven by workers supplying more labor, while the...

Minnesotans had been charged a 220% APR on the typical storefront payday loan, but this predatory form of credit ended in 2024 when a strong interest rate cap went into effect.

Nationally, HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) generate more than 130,000 jobs and almost $15 billion annually in total economic impact for their local and regional economies. But HBCUs have been underfunded throughout their histories. Couple that reality with the fact that student debt is a $1.7 trillion crisis in America, with one in four borrowers in default or serious...

Original research about Colorado borrowers shows expensive credit is already burying people in debt, debunking argument for legalizing even costlier credit.