California CA Payday Loans

826 local stores from 17 lenders located in 257 California CA cities
Rating
Reviews
Lender
4.19
36k+
reviews
Ace Cash Express
Ace Cash Express
141 office operates in 92 cities
4.69
35k+
reviews
Advance America
Advance America
151 office operates in 123 cities
3.72
4k+
reviews
California Check Cashing Stores
California Check Cashing Stores
100 offices operates in 68 cities
3.42
730
reviews
Cash 1
Cash 1
30 offices operates in 22 cities
3.80
92
reviews
Cash Plus
Cash Plus
6 offices operates in 5 cities
3.69
488
reviews
Cashback Loans
Cashback Loans
22 offices operates in 20 cities
4.88
684
reviews
CashMax
CashMax
5 offices operates in 5 cities
3.84
5k+
reviews
Check into Cash
Check into Cash
170 offices operates in 140 cities
3.78
258
reviews
Checkmate
Checkmate
13 offices operates in 11 city
3.40
1k+
reviews
Continental Currency Services
Continental Currency Services
51 office operates in 29 cities
4.60
5k+
reviews
Money Mart
Money Mart
52 offices operates in 41 city
4.29
368
reviews
Moneytree
Moneytree
8 offices operates in 8 cities
4.09
479
reviews
Payday Money Centers
Payday Money Centers
14 offices operates in 12 cities
3.76
12k+
reviews
Speedy Cash
Speedy Cash
37 offices operates in 29 cities
4.03
28
reviews
Sun Cash Loans
Sun Cash Loans
3 offices operates in 3 cities
4.80
286
reviews
USA Cash Services
USA Cash Services
4 offices operates in 3 cities
4.01
665
reviews
USA Checks Cashed
USA Checks Cashed
19 offices operates in 12 cities

California is a state located on the USA’s Pacific coast. It is home to some of the nation’s largest counties – Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County. Located in California is the nation’s second-most populous city – Los Angeles, as well as a number of cities that are famous for their scientific, economic, and cultural potential – Sacramento (the capital of the state), San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, etc.

The state has been an attraction for individuals, small and large businesses since its inception. With the payday loan trend originating in the 1990s, it has become home to America’s most reputed and law-abiding cash advance agencies, whose services are available online.

California’s population is diverse in all aspects, including ethnicity, racial and social makeup. Businesses of all types, including payday loan lenders, have no difficulty finding clientele here. There are a bunch of such organizations headquartered in different cities in the state.

California Payday Loans Statistics

  • Licenced Stores 1,645 (2018 year), It’s for 30% less than in 2008.
  • The number of payday loans per 1 year – ~10 Mill or 27,000 per day
  • The dollar amount per 1 year – ~ 3 Billion $
  • The number of customers per 1 year – ~ 1.6 Million
  • The average sum and length – $250 and 17 days
  • The average annual percentage rate – 376 percent
  • 410,000 customers or 25% take more than 10 payday loans
  • Customer ave. income is $27,000
  • Payday loans by online leads – 500,000 transactions
  • 6.2 percent of unpaid loans
  • 14% of payday lenders make transactions on the Internet
  • 80 percent of payday loans customers get by cash
  • 38 percent of companies offer Written Payment Plan
  • The same borrowers make about 76% transactions

Loan drains

Thanks to the strict legislation and caps, California boasts lower fee drains than many other states, where the law on payday lenders is less strict. In 2019, total payday fees reached $507,873,939, car-title fees – $239,339,250. The total fee drain reached $747,213,189.

Local Payday Loan Law and Legislation

Payday loans (deferred deposit transactions) are strictly regulated by the local law. It requires that all cash advance companies have the Department of Business Oversight license, and all transactions between a company and a borrower should be stipulated in an agreement. It should stipulate loan size, charges, fees, interest rates, etc. It does not take a long while for a customer to apply, as it would be the case with a bank. The whole procedure takes but a few minutes, especially if a customer applies online.

The maximum loan size is $300; finance charges should not exceed 15% per $100. The APR is 460%. Rollovers are not allowed, and there is no cool-off period between two consecutive loans. Borrowers are not allowed to take another loan unless they have repaid a previous one. Lenders are not allowed to abuse indebted customers.

Finding a California Direct Payday Lender

Although California is but the richest state in the USA and one of the world’s top economies, there is still social stratification. Lots of California citizens (about 62%) have an annual income below $75,000; about 45% receive less than $50,000 each year. These people often find it hard to make ends meet.

Things get even worse when they face unexpected expenses resulting from, for example, minor car incidents or breakdowns, sudden health issues, etc. They do not have extra cash to cover these or cannot apply for a bank loan, because their credit score is below 670. In this situation, applying for a payday loan seems like a decent option. Here at our website we post top lists of law-abiding and trustworthy California-based payday lenders (both storefront and online), such as, to name a few, Continental Currency Services, Cash Loan 888, USA Checks Cashed, ACE Cash Express, Fast Credit Financial, etc.

How Do I Apply for a Payday Loan in California?

Applying for a payday loan is easy – this is just part of lenders’ marketing strategy aimed at attracting clientele. As long as they offer loans to customers, who are not ok with banks, they do their best to reduce paperwork and eliminate lengthy procedures. One can find quite a bunch of legally operating storefronts in any town or city in California. Most likely, it will take but a few minutes ride for you to get to one. There will be a manager, who will guide you through the process of signing an agreement.

There is an even greater option – applying online. In this case, you won’t even need to leave your home, office, or any other location, using your computer or mobile device. All you need to do is open your trusted lender’s official website, fill out an application form and sign an agreement.

Origin and Geography

First European settlements were actually missions and military forts built by the Spanish, which evolved into towns, later, into cities. The coastal climate and strategic location made the area attractive for business and the military. Several times, California was at the centerpoint of major historic events, which shaped the United States’ future. As farming, ranching and mining progressed, new settlers would arrive and towns and cities would grow. The construction of transcontinental highways pretty much contributed to the formation of today’s California with its abundance of online payday loan services and other major enterprises.

Figures

The total population of California is approaching 37,400,000 people. Median household income is near $67,000. Median home value is around $451,000 with rent size averaging $1508,61. The median rent burden is 22.99%. The racial makeup is: whites are 75.94% (including 31.45% of the Hispanic population, and it is growing relative to non-Hispanic whites); Asians – 6.23%; African Americans – 2.7%; other races – 9.15%; Native Americans – 1.48%; Pacific – 0.26%. The general poverty level is 15.93%. The unemployment rate is 8.7%.

California Today

Apart from countless payday loan lenders, there are scores of large companies in California, which deal in all sorts of activities. Today, California (along with the USA itself) is one of the world’s largest economies. The most developed sectors are energy (gas-powered, hydro-electric and nuclear power plants), as it is required by the state’s tremendous industrial, economic and military potential. There are major motion picture producing companies (Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, the Walt Disney Company, etc.), world-renowned Internet and high-tech companies (Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, LG Electronics, Adobe Systems, Rosendin Electric, Qualcomm, Nokia, Kyocera International, Novatel Wireless, Cricket Communications, etc.). Still, there is quite a share of middle- and low-income citizens, who actually make up payday lenders’ clientele.

1085 CFPB Complaints in California

There were 1085 CFPB complaints in California since Nov 2013.

Complaints over Years

Top 10 Companies

  • Speedy Cash: 251
  • Check 'n Go: 219
  • Ace Cash Express: 201
  • Community Choice Financial: 171
  • Advance America: 112
  • Check into Cash: 85
  • Money Mart: 36
  • LendNation: 4
  • Allied Cash Advance: 3
  • Checkmate: 2

Top 3 Complaints Issues

  • Communication tactics: 152
  • Took or threatened to take negative or legal action: 95
  • Attempts to collect debt not owed: 87
Some official sources of data we used to build this page:
ACS CENSUS IRS USGS
California Flag
California
Payday Loans are legal* in California.
Loan Amount *
300
Max
Loan Period *
31
Max
Maximum financial charges - 15% of the amount advanced
Store
826 Local Stores
Company
17 Companies
City
257 Cities
Online
YES Online Loans