Nashville Based Lender Grows At Lightning Speed Amidst Industry Criticism

Advance Financial grows at an astonishing rate (as reported by an article in the Tennessean) Jan 10th 2013 Deborah was living paycheck to paycheck when she walked into Advance Financial’s store in Nashville for a small loan of $425. She was already late on her rent and had an upcoming car payment. Deborah, aged 57, lives in East Nashville and works at a preschool. She said, “I needed a one-time loan to pay a light bill so that they would still stay on.” Things didn’t end here. Paying the loaned amount with interest took up a fairly large chunk of her take-home salary. With bills piling up, she re-borrowed the loan again and again for almost two years. Every time Deborah borrowed, Advance Financial charged $60 as processing fees; so the interest rate worked out to 585% a year. Advance Financial has worked hard to give back to the community. It is recognized for its volunteering activities and work ambience. Most employees are very happy to work here. The company has also worked hard to shake the belief that lenders are unscrupulous exploiters making sure that all their stores feature bright lights and a cheerful atmosphere. Cullen Earnest, the company’s spokesperson, said that they were in the business to only help people. He added, “People who get loans from us would otherwise try to borrow from people who would rough them up in case they couldn’t pay back. If our products didn’t exist, where would they go?” For the original article, visit: www.tennessean.com/AF-article