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The payday lending industry is making a transition to smartphone apps, experts warned.

Consumer advocates say some financial apps now offer payday loans – short-term, high-cost loans that come due the next payday – through a few taps on your screen. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offered guidance last year that payday loans are consumer loans subject to regulations under the Truth in Lending Act but the agency rescinded that guidance under the Trump administration.

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Marceline White, executive director of the Economic Action Maryland Fund, said payday loans can create a cycle of debt, where part of each paycheck must go toward paying off a previous loan. Some borrowers must then take out an additional loan to pay other bills.

"When you have people who are struggling to make ends meet, and living paycheck-to-paycheck, they should not be having to borrow against their own paycheck, and then pay high fees," White contended. "Because what we see is that people get trapped in a cycle of debt."

President Donald Trump and other administration officials have previously accused the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of exceeding its authority, claiming it made “woke” and “weaponized” rulings on matters of consumer protection.

Maryland has heavy regulations on the payday lending industry, including capping the annual interest on payday loans at 33 percent but in some deregulated states, individuals pay as much as 300 percent annual interest on payday loans.

While White acknowledged apps offering payday loans in Maryland are also restricted, some new payday loans get around that by charging multiple fees.

"People shouldn’t be paying to be paid," White argued. "They shouldn’t tip to access their own wages. They shouldn’t have to pay expedited fees to get their own money out."

A report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found workers who use cash advance products take out an average of 27 loans a year at a 100 percent annual interest.