The Geography of Payday Loans in United States: I was curious. I decided to print out a list of all 50 states and and the District of Columbia to see which states were most protective of their consumers and which ones weren’t. I’m specifically referring to payday loans and the enormous interest rates payday lenders charge.
I wanted to see which states were able to keep those rates in check and which ones didn’t seem to care. I’ve been in this business for many years and even with all my years of experience the results still shocked me. The first state that completely caught my eye was Connecticut. This is a traditionally Democratic state with the Democrats carrying the last seven presidential elections. As I guessed, Connecticut is a state where payday loans are illegal. Washington DC is true blue also. it’s the hub of the government but traditionally a blue District. It makes sense that in Washington DC payday loans are illegal. Arizona was the first state I noticed that didn’t follow the red blue pattern. Except for Bill Clinton‘s win in 1996 Arizona has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1952. Payday loans are illegal in Arizona. In Georgia the Republican nominee for president has won the state in every election since 1996. In Georgia, payday loans are illegal.
State Max Loan Term Interest
(simple term)
Alabama $500 31 days 17.50%; +3% after default
Alaska $500 >14 days 17.5% + $5 fee
Arizona Zero
Arkansas Zero1
California $300 31 days 17.65%
Colorado $500 ($500 max at any one time) >6 months 20%: $0-$300 + 7.5%: $301-$500
Connecticut Zero
Delaware $500 (5x/year); $1,000 max at one time 59 days No Limit
DC Zero
Florida $500 & no more than 1 loan2 31 days 15% plus unlimited verification fee
Georgia Zero
Hawaii $600 32 days 17.65%
Idaho $1,000 No Limit No Limit
Illinois $1,000 or 25% of borrower’s gross monthly income, whichever is less 120 days 15.50%
Indiana $550 or 20% of borrower’s gross monthly income, whichever is less >14 days 15% for first $250; 13% for $251-$400; 10% for $401-$500
Iowa $500 max & not more than 2 loans 31 days 16.67%
Kansas $500 & no more than 2 loans 30 days 15%
Kentucky $500 & no more than 2 loans 60 days 17.65%
Louisiana $350 30 days 25%
Maine $300 No limit 15% for up to $200, 25% for $250-$300
Maryland Zero2
Massachusetts Zero
Michigan $600 31 days 15%
Minnesota $350 30 days Variable3
Mississippi $400 30 days 20% <$250; 22% >$250
Missouri $500 31 days 75%
Montana $300 31 days 36% APR (not simple interest) + $1.39/$100
Nebraska $500 34 days 17.65%
Nevada 25% of borrower’s gross monthly income 35 days4 None
New Hampshire $500 30 days 36% APR (not simple interest) + $15.50/100
New Jersey Zero
New Mexico $2,500 (25% of monthly gross income cap) 35 days 15.50%
New York Zero
North Carolina Zero
North Dakota 500 (or $600 outstanding) 60 days 20%
Ohio $5002 (4 loans permitted/year) >31 days 28% APR2
Oklahoma $500 45 days 15%
Oregon $500,005 31 days-60 days 36% APR
Pennsylvania Zero
Rhode Island $500 & no more than 3 loans1 >13 days 10%1
South Carolina $5,506 31 days 15%6
South Dakota $500 No Limit No Limit
Tennessee $5,001 31 days 17.65%1
Texas No Limit2 >7 days 12%2
Utah No Limit 10 weeks No Limit
Vermont Zero
Virginia $500 2x borrower pay cycle 20% fee + 36% APR
Washington $700 or 30% of borrower’s gross monthly income, whichever is less 2x borrower pay cycle 15%
West Virginia Zero
Wisconsin No Limit 90 days No Limit
Wyoming No Limit 1 calendar month $30 or 20%/month max
Notes 1. In this state, online loans follow the lender’s state laws, and not the borrower’s state laws.
2. In this state, lender may be regulated as a credit service organization (CSO). Generally, a CSO does not need to be licensed so there is no limit to the maximum loan or finance charge.
3. Minnesota: (i) On any amount up to and including $50, a charge of $5.50 may be added; (ii) on amounts in excess of $50, but not more than $100, a charge may be added equal to 10% of the loan proceeds plus a $5 administrative fee; (iii) on amounts in excess of $100, but not more than $250, a charge may be added equal to 7% of the loan proceeds with a minimum of $10 plus a $5 administrative fee; (iv) for amounts in excess of $250 and not greater than $350, a charge may be added equal to six percent of the loan proceeds with a minimum of $17.50 plus a $5 administrative fee. After maturity, the contract rate must not exceed 2.75% per month of the remaining loan proceeds after the maturity date calculated at a rate of 1/30 of the monthly rate in the contract for each calendar day the balance is outstanding.
4. Nevada: May be up to 90 days if: (a) The loan provides for payments in installments; (b) The payments are calculated to ratably and fully amortize the entire amount of principal and interest payable on the loan; (c) The loan is not subject to any extension; and (d) The loan does not require a balloon payment of any kind.
5. Oregon: 36% APR interest plus $10/$100 origination fee up to $30
6. South Carolina: Transaction may be handled as a consumer installment loan, not a “payday loan” per se, so there is no limit to the maximum loan or finance charge.
* Tribal lenders are not regulated by or subject to state laws

I really thought there would be a correlation between red States blue States and the legal status of payday loans. Boy, was I wrong! This is not a scientific experiment by any means but prevailing logic would imply that red is way more conservative that the liberal blues. Before I looked I assumed California would be another state that would ban payday loans. Although the interest rates have been capped at almost 18%, that’s computed as simple interest, they have still not eradicated payday loan companies from their state. As all of us know California aspires to be the United State of California and secede from the union one day. That’s liberal!I believe what I’m trying to say is that there’s no pattern to these laws. When I printed this list, I thought it would be very different. After going through it, there was one thought that took root in my head. I was wondering why industries like these are not federally regulated. I was wondering why payday loan companies weren’t regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? There’s a two-word answer to that and her name is Kathy Kraninger. If you’re curious, go back to September, October, and November in the blog and read a little bit about her.

So I continue to ask myself, why is there such a disparity between legal states and illegal States, and ongoing interest rates in the states that payday loans are legal? There is no logical pattern. I have one more interesting thought about it. Take a state like Missouri. Missouri has an interest rate cap of 75% compounded daily. Over a year, a $500 payday loan would cost $1,057.69 in total to pay off. Do the math. By the way, that’s low end of the spectrum. Interest rates can run up to 700% annually depending on the paperwork you sign. Let’s get back to the problem at hand. I’ve written about this before. The problem always reverts back to usurious interest rates that would be illegal in any other business, being charged on payday loans. What can consumers who are desperately in need of quick cash do about this?

The answer is, write write write! Write to your public servants and tell them! The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created by President Obama to protect the public and police businesses like payday loan companies. President Trump has handcuffed this Federal agency by putting people he has handpicked himself in positions of power. Most recently, President Trump asigned Kathy Kraninger to that post and before her, Mick Mulvaney was the head of the CFPB. If you Google Mick Mulvaney you’ll understand his politics.

My question is this. Why does our Republican President protect payday loan companies? Im really curious about that. I do understand that our president is pro-business but in these times we’ve noticed that many of these payday loan companies are actually owned by native American tribes. This is interesting because upon researching the tax status and obligations of native American tribes, I’ve noticed that there are many different treaties that have been signed by many different tribes and consequently all Indian tribes don’t pay the same federal income tax. Some pay way less than others. That brings me back to my initial question. Given that much of the payday loan industry is run by native American tribes, why does the federal government allow them to eviscerate the wallets of the people who can least afford it when the federal government cannot tax the eviscerator like they can tax regular privately owned or publicly traded companies? Good question and I have no answer.

In some of my videos I mention it’s time for people to write to their legislators and tell them that they’re sick and tired of paying loan shark interest rates and if said legislator does not work hard enough to eradicate our country of this parasitical industry they will be voted out of office. That’s really the only way to effectuate change. As a child of the 60s I remember the power of protests. If you do find yourself stuck is the muck of payday loans contact Federated Financial Payday Loan Consolidation. Our number is on the top of the homepage as well as a little box to fill in three or four quick pieces of information.

Bottom line is if you give us a call or send us a form we can start helping  immediately after speaking with you. Read the chart. Choose your state and see what’s going on there. If you need us choose us!. Federated Financials’ 23 years in business and our A+ BBB rating speaks for itself. We Care.