Fifth Third Unveils 260% APR Payday Advance Product

Under the guise of helping consumers with low balance bank accounts avoid fees, Fifth Third Bank is now offering a new product based on a current account feature called Early Access.

The new product, MyAdvance, allows customers to take out an advance of between $50 and $1000 against their next direct deposit. Based on the fees or rates charged for Early Access, customers would pay a 5% fee for advances taken out in the first 18 months of using the product and 3% thereafter. These numbers represent an effective APR of 260% if an advance is…