New Payday Loan Regulations Boon Or Bane

This year saw the much awaited payday loan regulations being adopted by six provinces in Canada, the latest being Manitoba which introduced the most stringent regulations in October 2010. Consumer protection forums have been quite vocal about their demands for payday loan regulations for many years now and finally they seem to have had some impact considering the way each province has introduced new rules and regulations with respect to the payday loan industry.

Of course now that these new rules are in place in several provinces in Canada, a new debate has started over whether the new regulations are actually beneficial or are creating a new kind of problem for payday loan borrowers as well as lenders. At the outset, all new regulations have been welcomed by the industry and have had a positive impact for borrowers. The primary objective of these rules; which is to stop unfair business practices and protect consumer rights has been achieved. At the same time, new guidelines for payday loan companies, agents and even brokers has been able to clearly differentiate between the legitimate lenders from those who were simply trying to get the most out of a precarious financial situation of a consumer. In that regard, new payday loan regulations introduced throughout Canada has certainly been beneficial to say the least.

However, there has been a growing concern as well lately with many payday loan storefronts and agencies shutting shop especially in the province of Manitoba. Since October 2010, there have been shutdowns almost every week and has left many of the individuals dependent on these payday loan centers with a worsening financial situation. This has been blamed on the new regulations that had been introduced in Manitoba which is clearly the toughest rules in the country. Even the Canadian Payday Loan Association had warned the respective governments that there would be consequences of the tough stance taken by them. Apart from Manitoba, many payday storefronts in other provinces as well are facing a fight to survive and may end up closing its doors as well over the next few months.

Love it or hate it, the fact remains that many families across Canada use payday loans on a regular basis to ease their monthly financial burdens. Hence analysts believe that while the new regulations being introduced all over the country is definitely a good thing, there has to be some kind of balance that is created so that it ends up as a win-win situation for everyone involved.