SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - San Jose and Santa Clara County are cracking down on payday lending operations.

     

Critics say the storefront businesses prey on the poor. In exchange for a post-dated check, people get up to $255 in cash with a promise to repay the loan, plus a $45 fee, within two weeks.

     

According to reports,  San Jose's planning commission meets Friday night to consider a proposal that would ban payday lenders in low-income neighborhoods.

 

Next Tuesday, county supervisors will decide whether to make their temporary ban on all new payday lending establishments permanent.

     

Although payday loans are pitched as one-time emergency measures, studies show borrowers often return to the lender repeatedly.

     

Annualized interest rates can reach 460 percent.

      

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)