#495: The Weird Inner Workings Of The Payday Loan Business




Planet Money show

Summary: Payday lenders made about $49 billion in high-interest loans last year. More than forty percent of those loans were made online. On today's show, we go looking for the people making these loans and find a bizarre online marketplace where people's personal financial information is bought and sold. Plus, we talk to state regulators about why it's so hard to police high interest lending happening online.