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FlexWage, which provides short-term financing to underbanked consumers, says its products are cheaper and more customer-friendly than the payday loans that regulators are scrutinizing.
June 1 -
A coalition of consumer and community groups is urging regulators to crack down on a Florida bank that is issuing prepaid cards for payday lender CheckSmart.
May 7
Two payday lenders have filed suit against the city of Austin, Texas, claiming that new regulations restricting where payday lenders can operate and how much they can lend to one borrower violate state laws.
The law was passed last summer and took effect last month after lenders' attempts to block its implementation failed. Like similar laws passed by a handful of states and the District of Columbia, the Austin law limits how much cash a payday lender or car-title loan company can advance to a borrower, limits the number of times a borrower can refinance and prohibits where they can operate.
The Austin Statesman reported Saturday that TitleMax, a car title loan firm, and Rubicon Equity Partners, a payday lender, filed its suit against the city last week. They claim that the new law places such severe restrictions on lending that it will be difficult for them to continue operating in the city.
The City of Austin Law Department denied the claims, saying in a statement that it is "fully prepared to defend the lawsuits and remain confident that the ordinance is legally sound," the Austin Statesman reported.
