The Affordability Problem of Earned Wage Payday Loans | NCLC Issue Brief, February 10, 2026
Download the PDF | NCLC, February, 2026
“With Apps Taking $300/year or more from Workers, Lawmakers Should Reject Bills Removing Protections for Active Duty Service Members and Preempting State Payday Loan Laws ”
“WASHINGTON – Payday loan apps, often misleadingly called “earned wage access,” take $300 a year or more from people struggling to make ends meet. The apps exacerbate affordability problems, leaving people with depleted paychecks, trapped in a vicious cycle of reborrowing, with more overdraft fees. Yet Congress is considering a bill to exempt payday loan apps from the Military Lending Act’s 36% rate cap for service members and to preempt state payday loan rate caps and laws. States are considering similar bills. “