In NW Arkansas, the number of check-cashing outlets, pawn shops and rent-to-own establishments appears to be increasing. Everywhere you go one can't help but notice signs advertising "Fast Cash", "No Credit Check", and "Payday Advances" (particularly on Hwy. 71B and Sixth Street in Fayetteville). What's the deal with these businesses and is their growing presence in our community a good or bad sign? Below are some links to resources that deal with these questions.

CHECK-CASHING OUTLETS:

Check cashers: Saints or sinners?: Critics say they gouge patrons with big fees; others say it's service

The Detroit News, April 6, 1997

Check cashing outlets are expanding

CNNfn, June 18, 1996

Illegal check-cashers fill the gaps

"In the limited financial world of the working poor and indigent, where branches are scarce and bank accounts a luxury, a cottage industry flourishes [Asbury Park Press]."

What a difference a bank makes

"The cost differences between using a bank, legal check-cashing outlets and illegal check cashers, assuming you take home $15,000 a year and pay eight bills a month [Asbury Park Press]."

Banking on the fringes

"Standing in front of the 804 Fifth Ave. check-cashing facility he has managed for seven years, Charlie Roesing could easily be mistaken for the mayor of Asbury Park. A steady stream of customers approaches him to shake hands, gossip and share a laugh [Asbury Park Press]."

Fringe Banking

"A growing number of low-income Americans are relying on 'fringe banks' in place of traditional banking services. Reporter John Biewen traveled to Georgia, where people who get loans from pawnshops pay an annual interest rate of 300-percent [Minnesota Public Radio]."

Minnesota Pawn

"Some of the Minnesota's pawnshops are using a loophole in the state law to charge more than 200-percent [Minnesota Public Radio]."

National Pawnbrokers Association

Information about the Pawn industry including answers to common questions and more

Rent to Own

"Rent-to-own stores tend to locate in poor neighborhoods, and many of their customers have low incomes or damaged credit. Courts in Minnesota and Wisconsin say the nation's largest rent-to-own chain violated interest rate limits [Minnesota Public Radio]."

"Don't Rent To Own"

A 1997 report from Public Interest Research Groups charges "Rent-to-Own" stores rip-off consumers

Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

The national trade association for the rental-purchase industry

Our Neighborhood Banks: High Cost Loans for Low Income Borrowers

A comprehensive article about "fringe banking" written by Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports

It's expensive to be poor

Another article about "fringe banking" by NUVO Newsweekly

Credit Traps Can Hurt Your Adult Learners (PDF file)

Innovative Teaching Materials for Georgia's Teachers of Adults. This issue contains three activities: "How interest works," "How much does credit really cost?," and "Community Research on Credit."

Easy Money in Hard Times -- Poverty is Big Business in Memphis -- the Bankruptcy Capital of the Country

A profit from poverty story appearing in the alternative weekly, Memphis Flyer

Cashing in on Poverty - How Big Business Wins Every Time

The Nation, May 20, 1996

The High Cost of Poverty

"Advocates for the poor say one reason for the persistence of poverty is that low-income people often pay more for basic goods and services than middle-class people do, making the poor feel they're running in place. In this series Minnesota Public Radio examines the high cost of poverty." Reports broadcast January 13 - 17, 1997.

No checks or balances

"In a four-part series, the Asbury Park Press looks at why banks leave, where they have gone, and how those left behind manage with 'No Checks or Balances.'" Published Sept. 1995.

Merchants of Misery: How Corporate America Profits From Poverty

Edited by Michael Hudson; Common Courage Press, 1996

Fringe Banking: Check-Cashing Outlets, Pawnshops, and the Poor

By John P. Caskey; Russell Sage Foundation, 1996

Federal Trade Commission

Home page of the agency responsible for enforcing federal consumer protection laws.

Debt Counselors of America

A national non-profit Internet-based debt counseling agency

Arkansas Credit Related Services/Counseling/Education

A listing from the Better Business Bureau