During the pandemic, mostly unregulated lenders went after struggling restaurants and music venues, charging at times sky high rates. Now, they’ve found a new market: small businesses that desperately need cash to pay tariffs. Today on the show, the story of a financial lifeline that can turn into a financial choke hold. Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: <a href="https://tix.to/pm-book-tour"target="_blank" >https://tix.to/pm-book-tour</a>.  Related episodes: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721268/can-i-get-my-tariff-money-back-now"target="_blank" >Can I get my tariff money back now?</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5515756/three-ways-companies-are-getting-around-tariffs"target="_blank" >Three ways companies are getting around tariffs</a>  For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. Fact-checking by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez"target="_blank" >Sierra Juarez</a>. Music by <a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/"target="_blank" >Drop Electric</a>. Find us: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney"target="_blank" >TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney"target="_blank" >Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money"target="_blank" >Newsletter</a>.   To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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