When debtors get into trouble, they will often repay liabilities such as payday loans with high interest rates first, leaving the credit unions until last.
In addition, lenders are prohibited from lending more than 50 percent of a borrower's take-home pay or requiring repayment before the borrower's next payday.
Businesses in the poverty industry often include payday loan centers, pawnshops, rent-to-own centers, casinos, liquor stores, tobacco stores, and credit card companies.
Since payday lending operations charge higher interest-rates than traditional banks, they have the effect of depleting the assets of low-income communities.