Prohibitions, Price Caps, and Disclosures:  A Look at State Policies and Alternative Financial Services Product Use

This study uses new nationally representative survey data to examine the relationship between state-level alternative financial services (AFS) policies (prohibitions, price caps, disclosures) and consumer use of five AFS products: payday loans, auto title loans, pawn broker loans, refund anticipation loans, and rent-to-own transactions. Looking across five products rather than at one product in isolation allows a focus on patterns across products. In general, the results suggest that more stringent price caps and prohibitions are associated with lower product use.