Are ACE Cash Express cash advance loans an example of predatory lending?

Because the interest rates and terms of its cash advance loans are so onerous, some have described Ace Cash Express as one of a group of "modern-day loan sharks," as U.S. News & World Report points out. The Consumer Federation of America considers such lenders predatory.

The payday loans made by Texas-based Ace Cash Lending don't actually qualify to be called "payday" loans under the Military Lending Act, which defines payday loans or cash advances as lasting a maximum of three months, as the Huffington Post explains. As of 2013, Ace Cash Lending offered a five-month loan that charged an interest rate of 585 percent.