A venerated font since the heyday of Spy magazine.

Naturally, they want to lower the apparent interest rate by using a 14 day loan. Why on earth would anyone get a payday loan on payday? That's what happens every 14 days for their typical customer-payday. A two day loan would be more realistic. Just multiply that APR by 7 to get a realistic picture. 15% for two days is 2,745% APR. The mob would be proud!

Type half an inch high ... swimming on an 18 foot by 22 foot sign?

Classic.

"...The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away..."

-Tom Waits

The problem is that there are still people who are credit risks. So they'll wind up in Pawn Shops or taking money from loan sharks. Or taking cash advances from their credit cards which is just as bad.

They could use 12-inch tall letters for the fees and interest rate information, and people will still be lined up at the doors. Desperation and hunger are powerful motivators. Until poverty itself is actually dealt with, many people will continue to depend on things like payday loans, or "cash advances," as the industry likes to call them.

We recently availed ourselves of a PayDay loan service. I wrote a post-dated check for $300 and walked out with $255 cash. To me, the $44 was a small price to pay for the ability to buy some groceries, deposit a little in my bank account so that a check wouldn't bounce (which would have cost at least $44 in fees, probably more). My husband and I each have decent professional jobs in the education field, but had a many extra expenses this month. Yes, we were desperate. I was pretty pleased to get my hands on the cash to tide us over until our combined payroll of $6,600 was deposited at the end of the month.