Payday Loan in Rhode Island
Legal Status: Legal (Applies to check cashers only)
Citation:
R.I. Stat. Ann. ยงยง 19-14.4-1 et seq.
Loan Terms:
Maximum Loan Amount: $500
Loan Term: Min: 13 days
Maximum Finance Rate and Fees: 15%
Finance Charge for 14-day $100 loan: $15
APR for 14-day $100 loan: 390%
Debt Limits:
Maximum Number of Outstanding Loans at One Time: 3/$500
Rollovers Permitted: One (rollover)
Cooling-off Period:
Repayment Plan:
Collection Limits:
Collection Fees: Not Specified
Criminal Action: Not Specified
Where to Complain, Get Information:
Regulator: Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation
Address: Division of Banking, 233 Richmond Street, Suite 231 Providence RI 02903
Phone: (401) 222-2405
Fax: (401) 222-5628
Licensing requirements: Check cashers must be licensed. Check cashing licensees who accept checks for collection with deferred payment, must obtain a surety bond in the sum of $50,000 subject to a maximum of $150,000 when aggregated with agent locations. Licensees must also maintain liquid assets of at least $10,000 for each location.
Required disclosures: In every licensed location, there shall be at all times posted in a conspicuous place within the licensed premises a complete and unambiguous schedule of all fees for cashing checks, deferred deposit transactions expressed as both a dollar amount and an annual percentage rate, and the initial issuance of any identification card. Each deferred deposit shall be made pursuant to a written agreement that has been signed by the customer and by the check casher or an authorized representative of the check casher. The written agreement shall contain a statement of the total amount of any fees charged for the deferred deposit, expressed both in United States currency and as an annual percentage rate (APR), as required by federal regulations. The check casher shall give a duplicate original of the agreement to the customer at the time of the transaction.
Loan terms: A check casher may defer the deposit of a personal check written by a customer for no less than 13 days. The face amount of the check shall not exceed $500. The maximum aggregate amount of concurrently outstanding checks held by the licensee or its affiliate from the same customer is $500. The maximum number of concurrently outstanding checks held by the licensee or its affiliates from the same customer is 3. The maximum number of rollovers permitted is 1.
Permitted charges: 15% of the amount of funds advanced.
Prohibited acts: The written agreement shall not permit the check casher to accept collateral.
Penalties: Any person and the several members, officers, directors, agents, and employees of any person who violate or participate in the violation of any of the applicable provisions of this title is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. Each violation constitutes a separate offense. Complaints under the provisions of this chapter may be made by the director or the director’s designee and shall not be required to give surety for costs. The attorney general shall prosecute all complaints under this chapter. Any person who makes or brokers a loan not invalid for any other reason who knowingly violates the licensing requirements shall, in the discretion of the court, forfeit and have no right to collect or receive any interest, fees, or charges whatsoever. In the case of any unlicensed transaction involving lending or loan brokering activities, the amount of interest, fees, or charges previously collected shall be credited to the principal balance of the loan then due and owing or paid to the debtor, at the option of the holder of the loan. In the case of any unlicensed check cashing, sale of check, or electronic money transfer transaction, the amount of any fees or charges previously collected shall be paid to the person from whom the fee or charge was collected. In the event that the person who collected the fee or charge is unable to identify the person from whom the fee or charge was collected, the fee or charge shall be paid to the director to and for the use of the state.
