When household emergencies strike or there’s not enough in the bank to make it to the next paycheck, some families turn to small-dollar credit—small loans from alternative financial service (AFS) providers, such as payday lenders or pawnshops, or from mainstream sources. 

In October 2014, the Urban Institute convened researchers and state and federal regulators to discuss what is known—and unknown—about the small-dollar credit market to help inform efforts to protect consumers and enable innovation toward affordable, accessible, and mobility-enhancing small-dollar credit products. This brief summarizes the convening discussion.