It doesn't make a lot of sense to go to your bank and borrow a lot of money when you only need a small sum, and for a short period of time. Your bank will ask you to sign papers committing you to a longer term than you wanted, and often offer you much more than you really needed. Of course the banks mean well, but they aren't really interested in helping you out with small amounts of cash when you are in a tight situation, like when you run a little short of cash just before payday. It happens to us all from time to time, and when we don't have a friend or family member that we can readily borrow from, we still have places to go to access quick, fast cash, to help ends meet when our cash flow dries up (temporarily).

There's no shame in asking for a cash advance, after you, you're the one who will be paying the service charges and fees. So as a paying customer, you expect a certain level of service, and these cash advance companies have that in spades.

They're there for you, when you do run out of money before your employer cuts you your paycheck. They're in place to streamline the loan process of application to funds transfer, because they understand that you're in need, and that time is of the essence.

Payday loans and cash advances aren't always the only solution, and they aren't always the best solution. It depends on each individual circumstance, and what the particular financial need might be. But you can ask the person who just went to the bank and got $1,000 loan for a hundred dollar expense, and ask him what he would think if he decided to go to a cash advance company first and borrow just the $100.