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New Alternative to Payday Loans

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-926015.mp3

Kansas City, MO – Missouri has some of the loosest regulations in the country for the payday loan industry. The state is home to almost 1300 payday loan operations, compared to neighboring states that report 500 or fewer payday loan businesses.

Critics call these operations "predatory lenders" who take advantage of the poor with steep interest rates and unreasonable penalties for late payments. But industry representatives say that they provide access to cash for people can't get loans otherwise, and that high interest rates cover the increased financial risk involved.

Enter the Payday Loan Alternative Project, a partnership between Communities Creating Opportunities and the FDIC. The project intends to develop an alternative to payday loans for cash-strapped people. The project plans to loan money at a 36 per cent interest rate. But organizer Joy Friedman says, compared with the payday loan industry, CCO believes it can offer the public a fairer deal.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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