Proposition 111 could crush payday lending in Colorado

It was a cold October morning and the Rev. Timothy Tyler was preaching from a corner on Denver’s 16th Street Mall.

“It is time for people of conscience to join together to do the right thing, to begin the process of lifting up those who cannot lift up themselves!” said the pastor from Shorter Community AME Church, his booming voice echoing down downtown Denver’s busiest concrete corridor.

About 20 people were crowded around him – some dressed for worship, some wearing toothy “loan shark” headdresses – nodding in agreement and chanting “Vote yes on Proposition 111!”

The statewide measure on this November’s ballot seeks to limit the total interest and fees charged by payday lenders to 36 percent. In 2016, Colorado’s average rate was 129 percent, almost eight times higher than the current record-high annual 17.07 percentage rate (APR) of on a credit card.

Read more: https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2018/10/19/proposition-111-could-crush-payday-lending-in-colorado/