Voters of both parties and independent voters also agree that payday loan app interest rates should be capped at 36 percent and follow other consumer protections

Washington, D.C. — A new poll commissioned by Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending found that 86 percent of voters across parties agree that financial technology companies should follow the same rules and regulations as banks and other lenders. Voters also agreed by overwhelming margins that payday loan apps, often called earned wage access loans, should be subject to a 36 percent cap on interest rates and be prohibited from keeping and selling personal financial information.

The poll was completed by a bipartisan polling team from Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting.

"Payday lenders generate millions in fees by price-gouging consumers," said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. "These poll results make clear that voters across the political spectrum want lenders to be held to a 36 percent rate cap and other consumer protections.”

“Earned wage access products are nothing more than high interest payday loans in disguise that allow fintech companies to prey on workers already struggling to make ends meet with deceptive lending practices and astronomically high interest rates,” said Tom Feltner, associate director of consumer policy at Americans for Financial Reform. “Instead of giving financial technology companies another carve out from common sense consumer protections, voters overwhelmingly agree that they should follow the same rules as other types of loans.”

Earned wage access loans are loans provided to workers ahead of payday, usually through an app or website connected to their employer’s payroll. Though they claim to help workers with quick access to funds without credit checks, they often come with high and hidden fees that can trap people in a cycle of debt. As the House Financial Services Committee considers H.R. 9330, the so-called Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act that would exempt payday loan app companies from Military Lending Act, fair lending laws, state interest rate caps and other protections, this poll shows how the proposals in this bill are in direct opposition of the views of voters of both parties and independents.

Other key takeaways from poll:

  • Voters strongly support holding payday loan apps to a 36% annual interest rate cap, including subscription and expedite fees that often increase the cost of borrowing substantially. Support for capping rates was strong among Democrats, Republicans, and independents, with 90 percent, 84 percent, and 82 percent supporting, respectively.
  • Voters strongly support stopping payday app companies from keeping and selling private information, with 92 percent of Democrats, 89 percent of Republicans, and 87 percent of independents supporting the proposal.
  • Voters are more likely to agree that earned wage access apps trap borrowers rather than help them. Republicans and Democrats were more likely to agree that payday loan apps were high cost products that trap borrowers in a cycle of debt and make it hard to pay bills.

Read the polling memo here.

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