Also known as short-term loans or cash advances, payday loans allow you to bridge the gap between an immediate need for cash and that seemingly-distant payday. They will only be offered to people in full-time employment and are seen by many in the financial world as the 'get out of jail' of financial products.

The suitability of this type of loan can be easily established by answering one simple question - 'Do I desperately need money before I get paid?' - but their extreme convenience also entails a number of drawbacks that have sent many a borrower down debt lane.

Your typical payday loan will be in the region of £800 - £1,000 and will have an interest rate ranging from 20 to 30 per cent that must be repaid immediately upon your next monthly payday - a hefty price just for falling a couple of weeks behind.

Lenders won't issue one of the loans without first having scrutinised your employment history and verified that you can afford to pay it back, but their responsibility ends there. Once you have the cash in hand it is somewhat ominously left entirely up to you how you spend the money.

Nonetheless, in the heat of the moment payday loans indisputably have a number of legitimate purposes - for example facilitating the payment of another, more pressing debt that might otherwise lead to defaulting on a mortgage or credit card.

In fact not only are payday loans quick and easy to approve, but they also carry a lot less baggage than some other products. They're open to people with bad credit rating, for example, and the lender will not discriminate between homeowners and tenants.

Indeed for responsible borrowers who are simply struggling to deal with an unfortunate succession of expenses, a loan that provides cash before payday without doubt be a lifeline. Most providers will even offer you the chance to extend the loan period by paying off just the interest - providing a second, renewed stopgap for your difficulties.

That said, payday loans can never be anything more than a short-term solution. Anyone who relies on them on a regular basis could indisputably be getting a better deal by arranging an overdraft facility or alternative loan with their bank, and they do little in the way of encouraging financial responsibility or accountability.

As a long-term solution, therefore, forget about this type of loan - it should only ever be thought of as a temporary cash advance. But having said that, it's fair to say that the whole purpose of last resorts is that they are just that - last resorts - so if needs must then there should be no stigma attached to taking out a payday loan.

Just bear in mind that this is one of the most expensive forms of credit - and in all but the most exceptional of circumstances there will usually be a cheaper alternative, so shop around!