Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Table Text Block]

		Year Ended				Year Ended
		December 31, 2011				December 31, 2010
		As previously reported		As Adjusted		As previously reported		As Adjusted
Consolidated Statements of Income
	Pawn loan fees and service charges	$	291,891	$	282,197	$	253,314	$	243,713
	Proceeds from disposition of merchandise		636,728		688,884		534,878		588,190
	Total revenue		1,540,602		1,583,064		1,293,339		1,337,050
	Disposed merchandise		405,155		447,617		338,756		382,467
	Total cost of revenue		630,843		673,305		521,150		564,861
	Net revenue		909,759		909,759		772,189		772,189
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
	Merchandise other than forfeited	$	(7,238)	$	(7,150)	$	(6,914)	$	(1,869)
	Prepaid expenses and other assets		(2,723)		2,337		1,337		4,146
	Net cash provided by operating activities		448,856		454,004		351,306		359,160
	Pawn loans repaid		453,350		408,105		391,440		340,267
	Principal recovered through dispositions of forfeited pawn loans		275,547		316,651		248,850		291,163
	Net cash used in investing activities		(477,903)		(482,044)		(368,205)		(377,065)
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows—Supplemental Disclosures
	Pawn loans forfeited and transferred to merchandise held for disposition	$	299,693	$	334,869	$	245,872	$	297,045
		As of December 31, 2011
		As previously reported		As Adjusted
Consolidated Balance Sheet
	Merchandise held for disposition, net	$	151,274	$	161,884
	Prepaid expenses and other assets		41,911		31,301

Estimated Useful Lives

	Buildings and building improvements(a)	7 to 40 years
	Leasehold improvements(b)	2 to 10 years
	Furniture, fixtures and equipment	3 to 7 years
	Computer hardware and software	1 to 10 years
(a)	Structural components are depreciated over 30 to 40 years, and the remaining building systems and features are depreciated over 7 to 20 years.		a a
(b)	Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the terms of the lease agreements with a maximum life of 10 years.

Reconciliation Of Numerators And Denominators Of Basic And Diluted Earnings Per Share Computations

		For the year ended December 31,
		2012		2011		2010
	Numerator:
	Net income attributable to Cash America International, Inc.	$	107,470	$	135,963	$	115,538
	Denominator:
	Total weighted average basic shares (a)		29,514		29,602		29,640
	Shares applicable to stock-based compensation(b)		174		251		548
	Convertible debt(c)		1,764		2,138		1,333
	Total weighted average diluted shares (d)		31,452		31,991		31,521
	Net income – basic	$	3.64	$	4.59	$	3.90
	Net income – diluted	$	3.42	$	4.25	$	3.67
(a)c	Includes vested restricted stock units of 287, 231 and 191, as well as shares in the Company's nonqualified deferred compensation plan of 31, 32 and 33 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
(b)	For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, includes shares related to outstanding option awards that are exercisable and unvested or deferred restricted stock unit awards. Although there were no stock option awards outstanding as of December 31, 2012, the dilutive effect of stock-based compensation is based on weighted amount of outstanding awards during the year; therefore, a portion of the stock option awards outstanding during 2012 are included in this amount. For the year ended December 31, 2011, there is an immaterial amount of unvested or deferred restricted stock units that are excluded from shares applicable to stock-based compensation because its impact would be anti-dilutive.
(c)C	The shares issuable with respect to the Company's 2009 Convertible Notes due 2029 have been calculated using the treasury stock method. The Company intends to settle the principal portion of the convertible debt in cash; therefore, only the shares related to the conversion spread have been included in weighted average diluted shares.
(d)	Except as described in footnote (b), there are no anti-dilutive shares.