Profile: Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc (AEA)

Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc., incorporated on August 11, 1997, is a provider of payday cash advance services in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, the Company operated 2,767 centers in 33 states in the United States, 20 centers in the United Kingdom and ten centers in Canada, and had 79 limited licensees in the United Kingdom. The Company does not franchise any of its centers in the United States. Payday cash advances are small-denomination, short-term, unsecured advances that are typically due on the customer's next payday. The Company focuses primarily on providing payday advance services to middle-income working individuals and does not provide pawn lending, title lending or similar services. The Company's centers, which it designs to have the appearance of mainstream financial institutions, are located in middle-income shopping areas with retail activity.

The Company has conducted business in most states under the authority of a variety of enabling state statutes including cash advance, deferred presentment, check-cashing, small loan, credit service organization and other state laws whereby advances are made directly to customers. In certain states, the Company previously conducted business as a marketing, processing and servicing agent for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) supervised, state-chartered banks that made cash advances and installment loans to their customers pursuant to the authority of the laws of the states in which they were located and the authority of federal interstate banking laws, regulations and guidelines. The banks for which the Company has acted as an agent are referred to as lending banks. The Company no longer operates under the agency business model. The Company's operations in the United Kingdom are conducted in accordance with applicable English law. In Texas, where the Company operates as a Credit Services Organization (CSO), it offer a fee-based credit services package to assist customers in trying to improve their credit and in obtaining an extension of consumer credit through a third-party lender.

The Company provides cash advance services as specified by the laws of the jurisdiction where it operates. In the states where it was operated under the agency business model, the lending banks provided cash advances and installment loans and charged fees and/or interest as specified by the laws of the states in which they were located and consistent with the regulatory authority of the FDIC and federal banking law. Online cash advances made by a third-party lender are governed by the laws of the state where the customer resides. The permitted size of a cash advance varies by jurisdiction and ranges from $50 to $5,000. However, its cash advance will range from $50 to $1,000. The finance charges on cash advance services offered by it also vary by jurisdiction and range up to 22% of the amount of a cash advance. The Company operated centers in 35 states and acquired two centers in United Kingdom during the year ended December 31, 2008.

As of December 31, 2008 the Company offered pre-paid debit cards, money orders, money transmission and bill payment services and facilitation of a third party's tax preparation services. In 2008, the Company facilitated the offering of tax preparation services by a third-party tax preparation provider.

The Company competes with Check 'n Go, Check into Cash, QC Holdings, Inc. Dollar Financial Corp., ACE Cash Express, Inc., Cash America International, Inc. and Rent-A-Center, Inc.