The short-term, high-interest loans for amounts up to $2,000 can charge annual interest rates as high as 407% and lead to a debt spiral

Payday loans targeting the financially vulnerable are being taken out at the rate of more than 30,000 a week, with the amount borrowed in Australia on track to be worth $1.7bn by year’s end.

New data on the industry to be released on Tuesday shows that 4.7 million individual loans worth an estimated $3bn have been paid out in the past three years, with more than 310,000 extra households taking on the high-interest debt products since mid-2016.

Related: Consumer groups urge Coalition to crack down on dodgy payday lenders

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Related: Payday loan applicants asked to hand over bank passwords, inquiry hears

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