In an op-ed written for American Banker on March 25, 2026, Lauren Saunders, senior attorney at NCLC, looks at a new, slick breed of payday loan app that is working to extract profits from people struggling with the affordability crisis. “Many companies offering so-called earned wage access have the same basic business model as traditional payday lenders:…
NCLC and the Center for Responsible Lending submitted this brief to provide the Court with factual evidence concerning the similarities in product design, function, and consumer harms between Cleo AI, Inc.’s “Cash Advances,” often marketed as “Earned Wage Access,” and traditional payday loans. These products function as loans—app-based payday loans. Payday Loan Apps (“PLAs”) operate…
Read More about Amicus Brief: Center for Responsible Lending and NCLC, Moss v. Cleo AI, Inc.
Lenders pushing a new app-based form of payday loan claim they aren’t offering loans and they shouldn’t be covered by state or federal laws governing credit. However, to date, thirteen out of thirteen courts to rule on the issue have rejected industry arguments and found that wage advances offered through payday loan apps (so-called “earned…
Read More about Courts Reject Claims that Payday Loan Apps Don’t Offer Loans
NCLC submitted written testimony submitted to the Michigan House Committee on Regulatory Reform opposing H.B.5558 and associated bills. This proposed legislation would exempt a form of payday loan, so called “earned wage access” payday loans, from Michigan’s interest rate limits and transaction limits designed to prevent predatory lending.
Read More about Testimony in Opposition to H.B.5558 and Associated Legislation
Appearing in MarketWatch on March 17, 2026, Genna Contino speaks to Lauren Saunders, associate director and director of federal advocacy at NCLC about how the biggest YouTuber in the world has tied his name to Evolve Bank. Saunders said Evolve’s track record, including its connection to the Synapse bankruptcy, makes her wary of the bank’s…
Appearing in CNBC on February 27, 2026, Cheryl Minokur Monk talks to Lauren Saunders, associate director and director of federal advocacy at NCLC, about how an employee benefit known as earned wage access has become even more popular than 401(k) plan participation at some companies. “We don’t oppose completely free earned wage advances and believe…
Read More about CNBC: A booming employee benefit at the heart of America’s affordability debate
NCLC and several consumer and civil rights organizations urged that the House Financial Services Committee address several key points to prevent the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act from worsending the affordability crisis by protecting a business model that extracts hundreds of dollars a year from struggling families and forces workers to pay to be…
Read More about Letter on Earned Wage Access Consumer Protections Act
OCC Should Not Allow CashNetUSA and NetCredit to Ignore State Interest Rate Limits
Read More about New Predatory 100% APR Bank Seeks Trump Administration’s Approval
NCLC, on behalf of our low-income clients, submitted comments on the application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and to the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) to charter Enova Interim Bank and to acquire Grasshopper Bank, NA. The OCC and Fed should deny Enova’s application. At a time when President Trump is…
Read More about Comments on the Application to Charter Enova Interim Bank & Acquire Grasshopper Bank
Appearing in MarketWatch on Feb. 12, 2025, Genna Contino talks to Lauren Saunders, associate director and director of federal advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center about how earned-wage-access and cash-advance apps operate outside traditional lending rules, allowing consumers to stop repayment without harming their credit. “If somebody is really stuck in this trap, I…
WASHINGTON – As the prospect of an interest rate cap has moved to the forefront of national public policy discussions, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) joined over 170 civil rights, consumer, and community groups and leaders in a letter endorsing the Predatory Lending Elimination Act. This new legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed…
Read More about Broad Coalition Supports New Senate Bill to Cap Interest Rates for Loans
Consumer, faith, civil rights, labor, human rights, and community advocacy groups, urge support for the Predatory Lending Elimination Act (S3793), sponsored in the Senate by Senator Jack Reed. This bill is the solution to the worst practices by predatory lenders in the consumer loan market. By expanding the protections already afforded active-duty service members under…
Read More about Coalition Letter in Support of the Predatory Lending Elimination Act
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