South Carolina Payday Loan Law and Legislation

Payday loans in South Carolina are still allowed. Unfortunately, they are also quite popular despite the law that the Legislature passed in 2009. It limited the number of loans to 1 at a time and set a $550 loan amount limit. Also, an online borrowers’ database was created and lenders were obliged to check it when they issued a loan to a new customer.

While the law was a half-measure and a compromise (since there were suggestions to ban the industry altogether), it was a good step in the right direction. Too bad, it was insufficient as payday lenders (as in many other states) managed to find loopholes in it. They took another name of short-term “supervised” lenders and went on operating. Nowadays, the number of payday lenders officially “dropped”. However, in reality, they simply made a shift to a different high-interest product and continue to thrive.

South Carolina Payday Lending Statutes

In the state of South Carolina, payday loans are considered legal according to S.C. Code Ann. 34-39-110 et seq., or “South Carolina Deferred Presentment Services Act“. Thus, in South Carolina, payday loans are legally called deferred presentment services.

All South Carolina lending companies wishing to operate as payday lenders must receive a license from the State Board of Financial Institutions. Also, the state law requires that upon entering a loan agreement, a written contract should be signed by both a borrower and a lender. The contract should disclose all the loan terms including the name of the lender, the date of the transaction, its amount plus all rates and fees.

Implementation of a common database is required by the Consumer Finance Division of the Board of Financial Institutions, to prevent any borrower from having payday loans that are above the limits set forth in Section 34-39-180(B) and Section 34-39-270(A). The database shall have real-time access through the internet for payday lenders (Section 34-39-175). This means that each lender is required to check whether a borrower is already in the database or not and whether their loan is repaid before issuing a new loan.

Loan Amount in South Carolina

• The total amount advanced by a licensee to any customer at one time for deferred presentment or deposit may not exceed five hundred fifty dollars, exclusive of the fees allowed in Section 34-39-180(E).

Rates, Fees and Other Charges in South Carolina

• Licensed lender may not apply charges either directly or indirectly greater than 15% of the amount of the check (Section 34-39-180). This fee can only be legally imposed only once for each written agreement, meaning, not more than 15% for every single loan. It is forbidden to extend it.
• No roll-overs and extensions are allowed: Licensed payday lenders are not permitted to renew or extend the presentment of a check or delay its deposit for the consideration of old or even new loans, for any length of time beyond that provided in the customer agreement (Section 34-39-180).
• However, there is a restriction for the NSF fees that should not exceed $10 for a check.
• It is also required that a borrower was presented with an extended payment plan for a 12-month period in case of an inability to repay a deferred presentment transaction.

Real APR for payday loans in South Carolina can reach 391%.

The Maximum Term for a Payday Loan in South Carolina

• Payday loans can be given for a period no longer than 31 days; no extensions are allowed above it.

Consumer Information

• Criminal actions against borrowers are prohibited in the state.

The South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions can be contacted in case of any payday loan issue or question.

Regulator: Complaints & Information

South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions

Address: 1205 Pendleton St #306, Edgar Brown Building, Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-734-2020
Fax: 803-734-2025
Url: https://bofi.sc.gov/
File a Complaint: https://banking.sc.gov/file-complaint

Submit a Complaint to the CFPB

Number of South Carolina Consumers Complaints by Topics

According to CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

• Fraud and threat ( 170 )
• Charges from account ( 114 )
• Not exiting debt ( 57 )
• Credit rating ( 31 )
• Loan to return ( 28 )
• Not requested loan ( 28 )
• Lender is not available ( 24 )
• Loan not received ( 12 )

The Quantity of Top South Carolina Stores by Cities

The History of Payday Loans in South Carolina

• 2000s – Before South Carolina introduced payday loan regulations in 2009, more than 4 million loans a year were taken in the state.
• 2006 – The Military Lending Act effectively capped payday loans offered to the military at 36% APR. This federal law has no exceptions, thus, no lender in South Carolina is now allowed to offer loans to the military in excess of 36% APR.
• 2009 – South Carolina Legislation introduced South Carolina Deferred Presentment Services Act. It was the first payday loan law that was passed to help regulate the industry. It limited the number of outstanding loans to one, and set a limit of $550 for a loan. Also, it capped financial charges on any given loan.
• 2010 – However, the success was short-lived as payday lenders in the state promptly found the way to get around the law. The lenders simply abandoned their payday loan licenses and became short-term “supervised” lenders. In fact, this loan is very similar to a payday loan, however, it can presuppose collateral (a payday loan does not). Besides, supervised lenders are not subject to payday limitations and regulations. There is no set limit for either the term of a supervised loan or its interest rate. Also, lenders don’t care about checking borrowers via the database. In the result, out of 640 payday lenders that operated in 2010 nearly 100 were re-licensed as supervised lenders. (Alliedprogress.org)
• June 2, 2016 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a Payday Loan Rule that hasn’t yet fully come into effect (the federal rule is expected in November 2020).
• However, as the time passes, it seems more unlikely that the rule will ever come into effect. There is no secret that Mick Mulvaney, a former South Carolina Congressman who got a great deal of support from payday lenders during his term in the Congress, wasn’t eager to enforce the CFPB’s rule. Neither is Kathy Kraninger, who’s leading it now, for that matter.
• Thus, payday lenders in South Carolina continue to successfully evade state laws and thrive.

[Updated As of February 2020]