Pull up the rates page on Speedy Cash, Advance America, and CashNetUSA in three browser tabs and the marketing copy looks almost interchangeable. Fast funding. No FICO check. Apply online or walk in. The pages are designed to feel the same on purpose, because the brands compete for the same Tuesday-afternoon borrower who needs $300 by Friday.

The fee schedules tell a different story. On the same $300 loan in the same state, the three lenders can quote you finance charges that diverge by $15 to $20, the difference between covering a tank of gas and not. They handle rollovers differently. One has to offer you a no-cost payment plan; another doesn't. And only one of the three is publicly traded, with SEC filings you can read.

I called the corporate lines, read the posted disclosures state by state, and pulled the most recent CFPB and state regulator filings. Here is how these three actually compare, with the fee math and the parts the marketing leaves out.

The Three Companies in Plain English

Advance America is the storefront giant. Roughly 1,400 locations across 22 states, owned by Populus Financial Group (the corporate parent rebranded from Advance America Cash Advance Centers in 2024). It's a member of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), the industry's main trade group, which matters for one specific reason explained below.

Speedy Cash runs around 200 storefronts plus a heavy online operation, owned by Community Choice Financial (formerly CURO Group). The brand quotes APRs as high as 680% in some state disclosures, which it discloses on the rates page rather than burying. Credit where it's due for the disclosure; the cost is still the cost.

CashNetUSA has no storefronts. It's an online-only product from Enova International (NYSE: ENVA), a publicly traded lender whose 10-K filings give you a clearer view of the unit economics than the two private competitors. CashNetUSA also offers products that aren't strictly payday loans: short-term installment loans, lines of credit, and amounts up to $3,000 depending on your state.

The $300 Loan, Five States, 14 Days

The cleanest way to compare these lenders is to hold the loan size constant and look at the posted finance charge in the same states where all three operate or have online presence. Fees verified against each lender's posted rates and terms page; check the live page on the day you apply because schedules update.

  • California: All three are capped by the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law at 15% of the face value with a $300 maximum. Expect roughly $45 in fees on a $300 14-day loan, working out to around 459% APR. We unpack what AB 539 actually changed and what it didn't in the California rate-cap explainer.
  • Texas: All three operate under the credit access business (CAB) model, where the lender splits the cost into a small interest charge and a much larger CAB fee. The Texas CAB loophole is where most of the real cost lives. The three brands land in roughly the same $22 to $28 per $100 range on a 14-day term.
  • Ohio: After H.B. 123 took effect in 2019, short-term loans are capped at 28% interest plus a regulated fee schedule with a 12-month maximum term. Pricing here is essentially converged across the three lenders; you won't see meaningful spread on a $300 loan.
  • Florida: 10% of the face value plus a verification fee, $500 maximum, 31-day maximum term, and a state database that blocks concurrent loans. See the Florida payday loan rules for the full structure. All three quote near the cap.
  • Missouri: No state rate cap, which makes this the worst-case test. Speedy Cash and CashNetUSA quote higher APRs here than the other two states combined; Advance America operates online in Missouri at similar levels. If you live in Missouri and you can avoid any of the three, do.

The takeaway: in states with a rate cap, the three lenders are functionally the same on price. In states without one (Missouri being the clearest example), the gap widens, and the lender with the lowest posted finance charge that month is the cheapest. There is no permanent winner. Read the rates page for your state before you sign anything.

What Happens If You Can't Pay on the Due Date

This is where the lenders actually diverge, and where the CFSA membership detail starts to matter.

CFSA members are required, as a condition of membership, to offer borrowers a no-cost extended payment plan (EPP) if you request it before the due date. The structure is four equal installments, no additional fees. Advance America is a CFSA member and offers the EPP across its footprint. Speedy Cash's parent has had CFSA ties historically; verify with the store or call center before you rely on it. CashNetUSA's parent Enova is not a CFSA member, so the CFSA EPP rule does not bind it. CashNetUSA does offer its own hardship and payment arrangement options in some states, but they're discretionary, not guaranteed by trade association rules.

What this means in practice: if you take a loan from Advance America and you know on Wednesday that Friday's repayment won't clear, you can walk into the store, ask for the EPP in writing, and split the payment into four with no extra fee. If you take the same loan from CashNetUSA, you ask, and the answer depends on your state, your account history, and the rep you reach.

ACH Debits and the CFPB's Two-Strike Rule

The CFPB Payment Provisions of the Payday Lending Rule took effect on March 30, 2025. The headline change: after two consecutive failed ACH debit attempts on the same authorization, the lender must obtain a new authorization from you before trying again. The rule also requires upfront disclosure before the first debit attempt and before any reauthorization.

This applies to all three lenders. The practical difference is how they handle the run-up to that second strike. Advance America and Speedy Cash both originate loans in-store where you can pay cash on the due date, sidestepping the ACH entirely. CashNetUSA is online only; your repayment is an ACH pull by default, which means a failed pull on payday is more likely to cascade into bank NSF fees. The CFPB's older research on online payday borrowers found that half of them racked up an average of $185 in bank penalties from failed debit attempts. That study is older but the pattern hasn't changed: when the lender is online and you're cash-tight, your checking account takes the second hit. We unpack the online channel risk in our online vs storefront comparison.

If you take an online payday loan and you sense the repayment won't clear, contact the lender in writing before the due date and revoke the ACH authorization in writing. Regulation E gives you that right. The lender then has to find another way to collect, which usually starts with a phone call rather than a third ACH attempt.

Funding Speed: What "Same Day" Actually Means

All three advertise same-day funding. The fine print is different.

Walk into an Advance America or Speedy Cash store with your ID, a recent paystub, and a blank check, and you can leave with cash that afternoon. That's the real same-day product. CashNetUSA's "same day" depends on the time you apply, the state, and whether you want the funds pushed to a debit card (faster, sometimes with an extra fee) or sent via standard ACH (next business day in most cases). Apply at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday and you'll often see funds that night or Wednesday morning. Apply at 4 p.m. on a Friday and you're looking at Monday.

Cash in hand from a storefront is the fastest funding mechanic in this category. It also forces you to drive to a store, which for some borrowers is the point: friction slows down a decision you might want to think about for another hour.

Which One Fits Which Situation

None of these are good products in the abstract. They're useful in narrow situations and harmful in many others. With that said:

  • If you live near an Advance America storefront, you want the CFSA payment plan as a safety net, and you can pay cash on the due date: Advance America is the steadier option. The EPP rule alone is worth real money if your week goes sideways.
  • If you need to pay in cash at a counter and Speedy Cash has the closer store: the pricing is comparable in capped states. Read the rates page for your state and ask in person whether they offer a payment plan, in writing.
  • If you have no storefront option and you're going to apply online anyway: CashNetUSA is the most established online operator of the three, and Enova's SEC filings give you a paper trail no private competitor matches. Be aware of the ACH risk and consider revoking authorization in writing if your paycheck slips.

When None of Them Are the Right Choice

Before you take a payday loan from any of these three, check three things:

  • Payday Alternative Loan (PAL) from a federal credit union. Capped at 28% APR by NCUA, amounts from $200 to $2,000, terms from one to 12 months. You usually need to be a credit union member for at least one month. The math is not even close: a PAL costs a fraction of what a 391% APR storefront loan costs. Our PAL explainer walks through the membership workaround.
  • Earned wage access through your employer. If your employer offers a free EWA benefit through a payroll partner, the cost is often zero. Compare that to a $45 fee on $300. We compare the consumer EWA apps in EarnIn vs Dave vs MoneyLion.
  • An honest call to whoever you owe. Utilities, landlords, and medical billers will often work out a payment plan for free if you ask before the due date. A payday loan to pay a bill that the biller would have deferred for free is the worst trade in personal finance.

Roughly 80% of payday loans get rolled over or renewed within 14 days, per the CFPB's payday loan guidance. That's the trap. If your repayment plan for the loan involves taking another loan, the three brands compared above start to look very similar: all expensive, all designed to keep you in the system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which payday lender has the lowest fees?

In states with a rate cap (California, Florida, Ohio, and most others), the three are functionally tied because all of them quote near the legal maximum. In states without a cap (Missouri, Delaware, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and a few others), the spread can be meaningful and the cheapest of the three depends on the state and the month. Read each lender's posted rates page for your state before you decide.

Is Advance America cheaper than Speedy Cash?

On the same loan size in the same state, usually no, the posted finance charges are close. Advance America's structural advantage is the CFSA extended payment plan, which can save you money if you need to extend repayment without paying rollover fees.

Does CashNetUSA do credit checks?

CashNetUSA performs identity verification and reviews your bank account history. It does not pull a hard FICO inquiry for most payday-style products, but it does use alternative credit data sources. A hard pull may apply for installment loans and lines of credit in certain states.

Can I get a payment plan from Speedy Cash?

Speedy Cash offers payment arrangements in some states; ask in writing before the due date. If your loan is in a state where Speedy Cash operates under CFSA-aligned rules, you may be entitled to a no-cost EPP. Verify with the store or the customer service line and get the answer in writing.

Will any of these lenders garnish my wages?

None of the three can garnish your wages without first suing you, winning a judgment, and following your state's garnishment process. They can pursue collections, report to specialty consumer reporting agencies, and (for online loans) attempt ACH debits subject to the CFPB's two-strike rule. Garnishment is a court remedy, not a lender remedy.

Are these lenders licensed in my state?

Each of the three is licensed in some states and not others. The fastest way to verify is your state's Department of Financial Institutions or equivalent regulator. Search the lender name on the state's licensee lookup. If the lender isn't listed for your state and they're offering you a loan, that's a red flag worth taking seriously.