Payday loans are short unsecured loans for a small sum, with the repayment term and date depending on the borrower’s payday. The creditor issues the loan based on the strengths of the borrower’s employment history and pay slip.

Payday loans, being unsecured loans, are high risk for the lenders and as such attract high interest rates, usually costing the borrower more than 4000 times APR.

Such loans are nevertheless popular as it provides the borrower with access to cash and easily to tide over emergencies, take advantage of any special deal or offer, repay an existing loan on time and maintain positive credit ratings, or even to pay for food and household bills when having exhausted the monthly salary.

Earlier the major patrons of payday loans were blue-collared workers and workers at the lower rung of the corporate ladder who did not have access to alternative sources of funds or the ability to furnish collateral to take regular secured loans.

However, of late, an increasing number of white collared professionals including top management executives, sales and marketing professionals, doctors and others are also availing payday loans.

Although payday loans by the very nomenclature are for those receiving regular salary and have a “pay day,” such loans are also becoming increasingly popular with many self-employed professionals, such as doctors, accountants, and lawyers.

Apart from the most common purposes for which people avail payday loans, payday doctor loans allow the doctor running his independent clinic to tide over periods of slumps when business is low.

Such loans allow self-employed professionals to tide over their affairs until a new client comes along or an existing client makes payment for services rendered.

Calling such loans extended to self employed professionals as “pay day” loans may technically be a misnomer as such professionals, even when having a regular source of income, do not have a fixed pay day and do not receive a salary slip.

The terms and conditions of the loan nevertheless remains the same as the terms offered to salaried borrowers. In such cases, the lenders usually assess the income and repaying capacity of such borrower through the borrower’s income tax returns or any other proof of income.