Payday lending has always had a place in financial services as they do offer credit to those who are shut out from traditional lenders; federal and state regulators have done more in recent years to try and protect consumers from lenders who charge exorbitant rates and fees; big tech has also played a part by banning ads by lenders and lead generation companies that connect borrowers to lenders; the Wall Street Journal found that some of these lenders are still finding their way to desperate borrowers; the current crisis has forced many more people to seek out loans they might not normally need; payday lenders have found ways to bypass the ad blocking done by Google and Facebook and it has landed them consumers willing to take on the debt even though they might not truly understand the terms; nonbank loan originations to subprime borrowers was up 157 percent from 2014 to 2019, the internet has made it a lot easier for companies to reach borrowers who have run out of options. The Wall Street Journal
