Do payday loans hurt your credit?

This post is in response to a comment I received on July 16.
Jonas Jackson said...

You seem to know a lot about the payday loan industry and sites like paycheckatm.com, what kind of people use this service and is it only people with bad credit? Is it safe? Will it hurt or help my credit? This information is for a friend of mine (wink, wink).

I suspected the answer but I did a little research just to be sure.
It turns out that they actually do not hurt your credit.

Many people turn to these loans because they have either no or poor credit ratings but they certainly don't drive your credit score down. It seems like many people believe that by taking out a cash advance, or even by simply applying, your credit score will decrease.

That is absolutely false.

What can and will bring down your credit score is if you're a bad boy or girl and don't pay your loans back. Keep in mind that like any other loan, you must pay it back. Neglecting your loan payments almost always has negative results, if you know what I mean.

Nothing in life is free and a loan is a loan, any way you slice it, so.... pay it back...promptly.
And then you'll be fine!