Overview
The Cash Store was a storefront payday lender that also operated under the name Instaloans. They competed heavily with Money Mart, as they are one of the largest storefront payday loan operators in Canada. They were particularly well known for essentially requiring customers to purchase a preloaded debit card at additional expense in order to get a same-day loan. If the borrower chose not to get the debit card, they would have to wait for a cheque which is significantly less convenient. This is a big part of Money Mart’s advertising campaign where they deride The Cash Store as the “No Cash Store”. In February 2013 the Ontario government finally weighed in on these practices and revoked their lending license.
Jurisdictions
The Cash Store operated storefronts in every province other than Quebec. They didn’t offer an online loan in the normal sense — you could apply online, but you must pick up the money from a storefront.
Controversy
The Cash Store was the subject of a major lawsuit in British Columbia around November, 2010, where they were ordered to pay several million dollars for their unethical lending practices.
In February of 2013 the Ontario government moved to revoke The Cash Store’s payday lending license for violating the provincial payday loan regulations.
They entered bankruptcy protection in April, 2014 due to their inability to operate in Ontario without a license. Following a major stock plummet they were delisted from the TSX and the NYSE. They subsequently closed.