Short-term, high-interest loans should be put under the spotlight, the debt specialists say.
Providers of so-called "payday loans" should be obliged by the regulator to lend more responsibly, debt charities have said.
Speaking to the BBC, National Debtline and Debt On Our Doorstep claimed that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) should step in, due to some borrowers being charged punitive annual repayment rates of up to 2,000 percent.
Generally, the loans work through the borrower being given cash after writing a post-dated cheque, which is then paid back in a month. Payday loans are so called due to this short lending period, and are used by customers to tide them over until their next salary payment. Most commonly, they are available in high street "loan shops", rather than in mainstream banks or building societies.
The regulator has indicated that it is to investigate the sector, to check to see whether or not it is being fair to consumers.
Beccy Boden Wilks at National Debtline commented: "If [customers] can't get another credit card balance transfer, they will start to look at other forms of borrowing, which could be payday loans or pawnbroking, which are quite expensive."
Damon Gibbons of Debt On Our Doorstep added: "We certainly welcome the fact the OFT says it is looking at the issue of responsible lending more generally in the UK, but we want to push them further to ensure payday lending is at the top of their list and is acted on immediately.
"We believe there is a lot more they could be doing to curb the worst excesses of the payday industry."
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