The title loan companies also have clustered near military bases, which spawn thousands of relatively low-paid jobs. The agreement was necessary after Escambia County Comission refused to pass an interest cap similar to those in Broward and Miami-Dade. At its peak, the industry was writing more than 18,000 loans each month, the Florida attorney general's office estimates. To qualify for a title loan, a borrower must own a car. To get a payday loan, a customer must have a checking account and a job.
Some payday lenders demand a recent bank statement or pay stub.
So to dwell on the 264 percent figure is unfair, lenders argue. But Ken Thomas, a Wharton School of Business lecturer and critic of banks for their inattention to poorer communities, says annual percentage rate is the standard basis for comparing interest. In the last legislative session, state Sen. Walter ''Skip'' Campbell Jr., D-Tamarac, at the behest of the payday loan industry, proposed a law to clarify state law and regulate the firms. But critics noted that the bill would have raised the cap on what the payday lenders can charge in interest. Campbell withdrew his bill, much to the disappointment of Check Into Cash, a Tennessee-based giant that was poised to set up shop in Florida only if the state regulated the industry.