What is a legitimate payday loan company? I live in Texas and one of the places that loaned me money doesn't really operate as a payday loan company per se. They lend money like any other payday loan company, but they tell you up front that they are not a payday loan company. What they do is the offer you land or tracts of land. When they "loan" you the money, you are expected to pay it back like any other loan company, but you are supposedly an investor in a tract of worthless land that you'll never own. Now based on what I read last night, this is illegal in Texas.