Many customers rely on automated bank withdrawals to cover recurring bills like mortgage or car payments, and the overwhelming majority of payday loan payment requests the bureau studied — 94 percent — went through without a problem.

But once a single payment request fails, it can set off a domino effect of fees and other repercussions. Payday lenders often submit multiple requests on one day, and some intentionally break them into chunks — submitting three $100 requests, for example, instead of one $300 request — in hopes that at least one will be fulfilled, the bureau found.

“Lenders that are owed money are entitled to get paid back, but we do not want lenders to be abusing their preferential access to people’s accounts,” said Richard Cordray, director of the bureau. “Borrowers should not have to bear the unexpected burdens of being hit repeatedly with steep, hidden penalty fees that are tacked on to the costs of their existing loans.”

The new study is the latest in a series of payday lending research reports that the bureau says it hopes will bolster its case for increased regulation of the industry. A preliminary set of proposals that the agency is considering, released a year ago, drew broad, fierce criticism. The payday loan industry said the proposed rules could deprive low-income Americans of a vital source of credit, while consumer advocates said the rules did not go far enough.

Republican lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee sharply criticized the bureau’s recommendations in a hearing last month, but Mr. Cordray said he still intended to propose more complete rules within a few months.