Payday lenders tend to see themselves as friendly institutions helping people out of jams.

But the AARP, the U.S. military and advocates for the poor see some of these store-front operations as predators targeting vulnerable people.

There is legislation pending in Congress to change the rules regarding loans to soldiers. But more needs to be done to protect the average person.

Payday lenders offer short-term loans. Someone needing money writes the company a check that will be cashed when the borrower's next paycheck arrives. The stores usually charge about $20 for every $100 borrowed.

For a short-term loan, 20 percent seems a bit stiff but not entirely out of the ballpark. After all, credit card companies charge 20 percent or more in interest rates, and if it means keeping the lights on or food on the table until a paycheck arrives, it may be money well spent.

However, the interest rate on payday loans is far higher than a credit card. A payday lender's interest can exceed 500 percent annually, enough to make criminal loan sharks appear reasonable by comparison.

If a borrower can pay the loan off on time, it's no big deal. But high interest rates become a problem when someone cannot pay back the loan on payday. Then interest begins to accrue, turning that short-term loan into an expensive, long-term headache. With dozens of collections lawsuits filed by payday lenders each week in 4th District Court in Provo, it's evident that quite a few people are getting into trouble.

Myla Dutton, of Community Action Services, says low-income people are especially vulnerable because they do not have other options for getting loans. The AARP is campaigning for reforms to protect senior citizens trying to get by on Social Security who find themselves in debt to payday lenders.

But the poor and senior citizens are not the only groups that succumb to the payday lenders' promise of quick cash. A Defense Department study found 225,000 members of the military had used payday loans. Those who get too far into debt are barred from overseas deployment, mainly because their debt would make them more susceptible to bribery.

Concerned about the effect payday lenders have on military readiness, the Senate passed legislation that would cap payday interest rates at 36 percent annually for service members as part of a Senate-sponsored defense bill. The House version of the bill did not include the cap, and both sides are working out their differences. Even if they succeed at imposing a cap on loans to soldiers it won't help civilians, who will still be charged higher interest rates.

So far, only 12 states -- Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia -- prohibit payday lenders from charging triple-digit interest rates.

Utah, regrettably, does not cap the rates. It does limit the length of a loan to 12 weeks, creating a theoretical cap on interest payments, but that's hardly a workable solution. Unscrupulous lenders can persuade a cash-strapped borrower to take out another loan after 12 weeks to repay the first debt, and thus start the clock -- and the high interest payments -- all over again.

Unfortunately, attempts to impose a meaningful cap on interest failed this year at the Legislature. Lawmakers rejected a proposal to cap payday loan interest at 8 percent if the borrower extends the loan beyond the initial two weeks. Industry representatives warned that a cap would set a precedent for restricting interest rates on other loans, such as credit cards and mortgages.

Lender lobbyists need to be overcome, and we hope AARP and other groups will be successful at pushing through meaningful reforms. If they fail, Congress must step into the fray. If a federal cap on interest is good enough for the men and women who serve our country, it's good enough for the rest of us.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.