Significant Accounting Policies (Reconciliation Of Numerators And Denominators Of Basic And Diluted Earnings Per Share Computations) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands			3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
		May. 15, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		May. 14, 2014
Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations							$ 7,492		$ (9,370)		$ (11,746)		$ 3,237		$ 27,566		$ (10,387)		$ 59,182
Net Income from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax							14,522		19,286		32,717		42,500		0		109,025		83,346
Net income attributable to Cash America International, Inc.			$ 12,612	$ 5,038	$ 2,071	$ 7,845	$ 22,014		$ 9,916		$ 20,971		$ 45,737		$ 27,566		$ 98,638		$ 142,528
Total weighted average basic shares	[1]														27,022,000		28,901,000		28,657,000
Shares applicable to stock-based compensation	[2]														216,000		92,000		72,000
Convertible debt	[3]														0		348,000		1,884,000
Total weighted average diluted shares			25,865,000	26,773,000	27,508,000	28,780,000	29,284,000		29,312,000		29,256,000		29,500,000		27,238,000	[4]	29,341,000	[4]	30,613,000	[4]
Basic earnings per share - continuing operations															$ 1.02		$ (0.36)		$ 2.07
Diluted earnings per share - discontinued operations							$ 0.50		$ 0.66		$ 1.12		$ 1.44		0.00		3.72		2.72
Net income - basic															1.02		3.41		4.97
Diluted earnings per share - continuing operations							0.26	[5]	(0.32)	[5]	(0.41)	[5]	0.11	[5]	1.01		(0.36)		1.93
Basic earnings per share - discontinued operations															0.00		3.77		2.91
Net income - diluted			$ 0.49	$ 0.19	$ 0.08	$ 0.27	$ 0.75	[6]	$ 0.34	[6]	$ 0.72	[6]	$ 1.55	[6]	$ 1.01		$ 3.36		$ 4.66
Vested restricted stock units, in shares															291,000		304,000		307,000
Non-qualified savings plan, in shares															32,000		32,000		31,000
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount															49,000		70,000		12,000
5.25% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2029 [Member]
Debt instrument, interest rate			5.25%												5.25%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount																					$ 115,000
Purchase and conversion of convertible debt, shares		747,085

[1] Includes vested and deferred RSUs of 291, 304 and 307 as well as shares that are deliverable to certain directors who have elected to defer a portion of their director fees to be paid in the form of common stock of the Company (“Director Deferred Shares”) of 32, 32 and 31 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

[2] Includes shares related to unvested RSU awards.

[3] On May 15, 2014, the Company called its then-outstanding $115.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.25% Convertible Senior Notes due May 15, 2029 (the “2029 Convertible Notes”), and the noteholders elected to convert such notes. The Company settled the principal portion of the outstanding 2029 Convertible Notes in cash and issued 747,085 of the Company’s common shares related to the conversion spread. Prior to the repayment of the 2029 Convertible Notes, only the shares related to the conversion spread were included in weighted average diluted shares because the Company intended to pay the principal portion of the notes in cash. See Note 11 for further discussion of the 2029 Convertible Notes.

[4] Excludes 49, 70, and 12 anti-dilutive shares for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and 2013, respectively. (e) Since a net loss from continuing operations exists for the year ended December 31, 2014, all potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive and are therefore excluded from the diluted per-share calculation.

[5] Since a net loss exists for the second and third quarters of 2014, all potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive and are therefore excluded from the per-share calculations.

[6] The sum of the quarterly per share amounts may not sum to each full year amount presented in the Company’s financial statements because these calculations are made independently for each quarter and for the full year and take into account the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for each period, including the effect of dilutive securities for that period. For information about the Company’s calculation of diluted weighted average common shares, see Note 1.