New Hampshire Payday Loan Laws & Legislation

New Hampshire Payday loan laws. New Hampshire Payday loan legislation. New Hampshire has specific payday advance laws. The rate of the loan is determined by the parties. After the initial term of the loan, interest cannot be greater than 6% per year. The permitted time period is a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of 30 days.

The payday loan cannot exceed $500. Rollovers are prohibited

For a thorough discussion of the payday loan industry and access to our payday loan training materials, we recommend you proceed to PaydayLoanIndustry.com

Bill to put a cap payday loans in New Hampshire will die in the state legislature.

State Rep. David Smith, D-Nashua, indicated he will fight a House sub-committee recommending an end for his legislation to cap, at 36 percent, what payday loan and title lenders can charge for small consumer loans.

"I'm very disappointed in the subcommittee's vote," said Smith, a retired banker.

Payday loan company officials suggestedif Smith's bill (HB 267) became law, they may leave the state.

A majority on the House Commerce Committee endorsed an industry sponsored plan to limit payday loans to $15 on $100 for a two-week note, which is an annual interest rate of 360 percent.

A majority on the subcommittee also recommended the industry's suggestion to cap their loans at $22 per $100 a month or 264 percent annually.

Advance America charges consumers $20 per $100 in cash advanced, up to a maximum $500 loan in New Hampshire. A $100 loan plus the $20 finance charge borrowed for two weeks works out to a 521 percent annual interest rate.

The sub-committee will meet later to take formal votes on the alternatives to Smith's bills, which would also tighten state regulation and provide consumers with more protections.

All these measures will come to the full House of Representatives for a vote in 2008.

The state repealed interest restrictions on payday and title loans in 2003. A great many lenders set up offices in New Hampshire soon after, serving thousands of borrowers a year who live here or come from neighboring states that have loan restrictions.

Rep. Steve DeStefano, D-Bow, said putting these companies out of business won't keep working class residents from needing cash in an emergency. The options left to them will range from pricier Internet loans to loan sharks.

It is a certainty that those states not having payday loan safe-harbor legislation in place force their residents to drive across state lines, or use call centers and payday loan Internet operations; always more costly to consumers!