First of all a payday loan or payday cash loan, payday advance loan or paycheck advance loan are all the same thing. It's usually a fast small loan for a short term that is used as an emergency loan by the borrower until their next paycheck. Loans can range anywhere from $100 to $2500 or so and fall due in 14 days. Interest rates will vary and are based on annual interest rates (APR) and can go as high as 780%.

For example for a two-week loan the cost for a $100 loan could be $15 and is taken out of your checking account when the two weeks are up. Be aware that if you renew the loan they'll take the $15 out of your back account and after two weeks you'll owe another $15.

If you plan to borrow from an online payday loan lender you may be charged interest rates of up to 50%. Online or Internet payday loans can vary from $10 to $50 for every $100 borrowed. So it's important to know that you need to check with several online payday loan companies, get quotes and compare first before you sign anything. You'll find that they do vary quite a bit.

Many of the online lenders will happily quote you the fee before you apply but many do not tell you the APR or annual percentage rate unless you ask. You want to make sure to ask.

If you borrow and do not have enough money in your bank account to repay the loan and the fee, the bank will also charge you overdraft fees, bringing the cost of the loan even higher.

When you're ready to borrow online after you've compared several online payday lenders you'll need to fill out an online payday loan application form. In some cases they'll want you to fax personal information like your bank account number, your social security number, where you're employed, etc. In some cases they offer no faxing payday loans and you'll do everything online If you're working with a payday lender who is not faxless they'll want you to fax copies of bank statements and a copy of a voided check, paycheck stub or other employer information. They'll 'direct deposit' the loan into your checking account.

What you want to be careful of is transmitting your personal information over the Internet, especially your bank account number and social security number to payday lenders that you haven't done any research on. It's important to thoroughly check out the payday lender and make sure you feel safe giving them your personal information online.

Read the fine print on any contracts because they all differ on some of their terms. You may have to agree not to file for bankruptcy or agree to tie up your future wages.

In any event you want to fully understand all the risks involved before you borrow any money from any payday cash loan companies. Getting a payday loan may be an easy solution if you need it only for the short term and know you can pay it back in two weeks. You want to make sure to compare fees and rates to get a cheap or low cost and best payday loan deal.