The term cash advance refers to receiving an advance on a loan or a short-term loan until you receive your regular pay. If you have a credit card or a line of credit, you can obtain a cash advance either at the bank or through an ATM. This helps to tide you over until you get your regular pay in the case of emergency. It gives you the cash or funds that you need right away. When you receive you statement, you can choose to repay the full cash advance, or you can just make the monthly payment stated. If you pay it off in full, you will not have to pay interest charges on a cash advance over a period of time.

The term cash advance also refers to payday loans that you can get from certain businesses that specialize in short term loans. These small loans generally do not exceed more than five hundred dollars and they must be repaid in full by the time you promise to pay. Due to the fact that they are only short term and unsecured, the interest rate charged on these cash advance is fairly high. Therefore, you should only use them if you absolutely have to.

A cash advance is a quick way to get cash in a hurry. IF you have available credit on your credit card or line or credit, it is not a problem as no approval is necessary. IF you have to get a loan for a cash advance, you may have to wait a day for approval and depending on your credit record, you may get approval within minutes. The main thing to keep in mind is that you have repay it on time so you have to make sure that you will be able to afford the payment without leaving you short of funds again, this starting the cycle all over again.