Council looking to impose limits on Calgary payday loan stores

Limits may be coming for payday loan stores in Calgary.

The International Avenue BRZ wants the city to place a moratorium on any new payday lenders opening on 17th Avenue S.E.

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It says the 11 lending stores on that street are already too many and it's hurting the area's reputation.

On Wednesday, acouncil committee voted in favour of looking at rules that could restrict how many stores can set up shop, and whether outlets should have a certain distance between them.

StanKeyes, the head of the Canadian Payday Loan Association, saidthey oppose restrictions on where the stores can locate.

"This is the business of business," he said. "Let business decide whether or not they can successfully locate in an area, where they are located now, the report itself says 300-to-400metres apart and things seem to be working."

City task force

At the council committee meeting,Timothy Afolayan told the council about his experience with a payday loan.

Afolayan makes $850 every two weeks, but when he needed some emergency cash, he borrowed $600 from a payday lender.

He paid $720 back, and then needed another loanto cover his rent and buy food. Ten months later, the loan was finally paid off.

"So altogether, I paid $3,000 but the interest component of that was $2,400," Afolayan said.

The committee was asked to form a city task force to work with agencies and governments on issues around payday lenders.

Coun. Andre Chabot said given the concentration of loan stores in east Calgary, the committee wants the city to do more than lobby.

"It didn't go far enough and it felt that, for the protection of image of a particular area, that we needed to go further and introduce some proximity rules," he said.

The Calgary City Councilwill discuss the idea at its next meeting.