NYT reports Top Arkansas Court Rules Against Payday Lenders:

In a 6-to-0 decision, the court said the fees permitted under the 1999 Check Cashers Act were really triple-digit interest rates. The State Constitution limits interest rates on loans to 17 percent.

…

Even before Thursday’s ruling, the number of payday lenders in the state has dwindled in response to threats of lawsuits from the attorney general, Dustin McDaniel. An advocacy group said in a report last month that the number of payday lenders operating in the state had dropped from 237 in March to just 33.

The poor, stupid, and desperate (that’s one group, not three) need to find another way to be separated from their money. Seriously, though, 17%? I have credit cards with higher interest rates than that, and my credit score is over 730. I don’t carry a balance, though, so it doesn’t really impact me. But does this mean that every person in Arkansas with a credit card has a better rate than me?