Senate Votes to Restrict South Carolina Payday Loans
By Paul RizzoPayday Loan Writer
A Senate panel voted Thursday to restrict South Carolina payday loan lending. The proposals would limit loans to five a year and decrease the loans’ limits to $400.
It would also require borrowers pay off one quick cash loan before getting another and set a seven-day wait between loans.
The Senate subcommittee did not change how much interest companies could charge; currently, the amount is $15 for every $100 borrowed. That’s an annualized interest rate of about 390 percent.
AARP in South Carolina says the number of cheap payday loan lenders in the state has more than doubled over the last five years. The group’s 2005 survey of credit counselors found that one in four clients had payday loans that were a major part of their credit problems.
