The shadowy world of merchant cash advances

During the pandemic, mostly unregulated lenders went after struggling restaurants and music venues, charging at times sky high rates. Now, they’ve found a new market: small businesses that desperately need cash to pay tariffs.<br/><br/>Today on the show, the story of a financial lifeline that can turn into a financial choke hold.<br/><br/><strong>Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: </strong><a href="https://tix.to/pm-book-tour"target="_blank" ><strong>https://tix.to/pm-book-tour</strong></a><strong>. </strong><br/><br/><strong>Related episodes: </strong><br><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721268/can-i-get-my-tariff-money-back-now"target="_blank" >Can I get my tariff money back now?</a> …