The rise of the payday loan has been quite phenomenal. It might appear to some that it is a new entry to the portfolio of loan products but there's actually very few financial products that are unique; many are simply existing ideas repackaged and marketed to reach a new customer base or altered to fit a specific customer profile.
Payday loans are the financial instrument to consider when speed of funds transfer and short term borrowing are the key issues at hand. The greatest attractions of payday loans are their ease of attainability, transparency of terms and sheer volume of companies offering them.
For short term finance, payday loans are the easiest form of credit. They are cash advances simply based on the applicant's ability to pay back within a short time period, usually 30 days and usually on the next salary payday. There are no credit checks and therefore credit status is irrelevant.
Generally, if you are over 18 with a UK bank account and can prove you are a UK resident with right to live and work and are employed consistently in the UK, you qualify for a payday loan.
Naturally, something that sounds so attractive is bound to have a downside and in this case it's the interest. Convenient finance doesn't come cheap and APRs for cash advances come in at excesses of 2500%. These cash advances are, however, not designed as a long term solution and the interest consideration should be seen as part of the overall advantage of the funding.