Appearing in The New York Times on October 3, 2025, Ann Carrns interviews NCLC Senior Attorney Carla Sanchez-Adams about how heavy users of pay-advance apps are under significant financial strain.
Some apps urge users to pay “tips” when taking advances, suggesting the payments are optional. But consumer advocates say it can be difficult in practice to avoid paying them. The National Consumer Law Center reported this year on how one app peppered a user with 17 prompts for tips and required more than a dozen clicks in the app to avoid paying them.
Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved to define pay advances as a form of credit, which would require providers to disclose the costs.
The rule wasn’t made final, said Carla Sanchez-Adams, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. But the agency, under the new Trump administration, has withdrawn other guidance on the advances, leaving the situation unclear.
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