"APR is truly fiction when it comes to this product," Walker said. "It doesn't apply. Our statistics reveal that 90 percent of (loans) are paid off within four weeks and over half in two weeks. It's a short-term product ... to help somebody get through soft patches in their life."

However, critics say that, just because a loan is shorter than one year doesn't mean it can't be measured in the same way — it will just have a more concentrated time frame.

Hilton is concerned that the state government has no data about how much money is being loaned, how often individuals default on those loans, or how often they have to roll over loans.

One bill introduced during the 2007 Utah legislative session, HB329, would have required deferred-deposit loaners to report more information. Advocates are hopeful a similar bill will be introduced and debated in the coming session.

But regardless of legislative action, payday lenders and check-cashing companies insist they are a great short-term solution.

"Our APR is 523 percent," said Daniel Stokes, store manager of the QC Financial Services in Orem. "That's pretty high. (But) interest rates on these are so high (because) they're meant to be short-term."

---

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com