The story
The company was founded in 1989. In 1994, the company had grown to operate 234 pawn shops in nine states. The company expanded its business to offer payday loan services in its EZPAWN locations in 2001. The first stand-alone payday loan stores were opened and branded EZMONEY in 2003. EZCORP then entered into international markets. EZPAWN opened 4 new stores along the Texas/Mexico border and acquired 20 stores in the interior of Mexico, which were branded Empeño Fácil in 2007. In late 2008 EZCORP purchased the Las Vegas based loan providers, Pawn Plus and ASAP Pawn. In 2009, EZCORP expanded to Canada, operating under the name CashMax.
The company also acquired 30% interest in Cash Converters International in November 2009. The company reports it acquired Value Financial Services in January 2009. In 2010, EZCORP increased interest in Cash Converters International to 33%. The company was also listed on Fortune Magazine's 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2010. EZCORP acquired the Cash Converters master franchise rights in Canada in 2011. In 2012, EZCORP acquired a controlling interest in Grupo Finmart, a specialty consumer finance company headquartered in Mexico City and operating under the name "Crediamigo"; and TUYO, a company headquartered in Mexico City that owns and operates buy/sell stores in Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan area.
In 2015, EZCORP acquired USA Pawn & Jewelry, which operated in Arizona and Oregon.
As per the company's website, effective July 29, 2015, EZCORP, Inc. announced the closure of its U.S. Financial Services business which offered payday loans, auto title loans, installment loans and lines of credit. All stores are now closed.
From Wikipedia’s article on EZCorp, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7