California is among states with the least regulation of payday lending, allowing loans that if renewed repeatedly would sock borrowers with 391% annual interest rates or higher, according to a new study that classifies states as permissive, restrictive or in between.

The study was released Thursday by the Pew Charitable Trusts. In addition to state-by-state information, it provides a quiz to test readers’ knowledge of  the payday industry, which operates over the Internet as well as out of storefronts in lower-income neighborhoods.
The report, based on a national telephone survey conducted from August 2011 through April, estimated that Americans spend $7.4 billion a year on payday loans, including an average of $520 in interest per borrower for eight $375 loans or extensions.

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