A “safer” payday loan sounds like an oxymoron. Critics have branded these notoriously high-cost loans as debt traps that cause borrowers to go ever deeper in the hole. Thanks to a recent regulatory change, it now may be possible for banks to offer small, short-term loans that could be a lot less dangerous for borrowers.... More From NerdWallet 3 Steps to Get Out of Debt How to Build Credit What Debt Collectors Can and Can't Do Liz Weston is a writer at NerdWallet.