Find yourself short of money with only a few more days until you get paid? That's where payday loans come in.

"Payday loans are small-dollar, short-term, unsecured loans that borrowers promise to repay out of their next paycheck or regular income payment," according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. "Payday loans are usually priced at a fixed-dollar fee. Because these loans have such short terms to maturity, the cost of borrowing, expressed as an annual percentage rate, can range from 300 percent to 1,000 percent, or more."

Some states regulate payday lenders to set limits on how much they can charge; others do not. Currently, no federal agency or law sets limits.

That might change, though. Congress is considering legislation to overhaul Wall Street, and that includes the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. That agency would have the authority to protect consumers when they borrow money, and payday lenders would seem like an obvious target.

The creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency has been somewhat controversial. The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that creates the new agency, but the Senate has yet to weigh in.

Yes, all this is a long way from capping interest rates on payday loans. But the pending legislation is enough for us to move this to In the Works.