With a range of emergency requests, government and IRS employees are among the highest users of Mazuma Credit Union's two-year old payday loan alternative.

The XtraCash loan was launched in March 2007 by Mazuma, which also helped to form XtraCash LLC, a CUSO created to provide payday lending alternative services to credit unions. The loans typically range from $100 to $500 in increments of $25, depending on state laws. Mazuma charges a $15 fee for every $100. Payday loan users receive a $2 per $100 discount if they pay from a Mazuma checking or savings account and an additional $2 per $100 discount if they enroll in the credit union's educational program.

About 40 XtraCash loans are approved each month at Mazuma's IRS branch, said Andrea Phillips, an account executive. Government and IRS employees tend to use the loans to catch up on bills, she noted. Others have requested the funds for car repairs and to replace broken air conditioners. The range of XtraCash recipients is quite wide: young people, low-income members, "those living from paycheck to paycheck" and employees nearing retirement. They all tend to request the $500 maximum amount. Some are repeat users, while others use the funds to pay for things like daycare costs while school is out for the summer.