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When you have unplanned expenses and are on a tight budget, a payday loan could be helpful. Payday loans, a type of short-term loan, give you quick access to money when you need it. Read on to find out about the laws in Illinois and everything else you should know about how payday advances work.
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Payday loans, also referred to as short-term loans, give Illinois residents with less-than-perfect credit an easy way to get money in a hurry, but they are an expensive form of credit. Keep Illinois law in mind when getting a payday loan to avoid illegal lending practices.
Yes, payday loans are legal in Illinois. Illinois Compiled Statutes 815 ILCS 122 et seq. governs the functioning of all payday lenders, which includes both payday loans and installment loans. Installment loans differ from payday loans in that installment loans are repaid over a longer period of time at lower interest rates.
Payday loan regulations:
Installment loan regulations:
You may have two loans at once provided the total amount of your loans is less than the maximum loan amount ($1,000 or 25% of your gross monthly income). If you take out both a payday and installment loan or two installment loans, your total loan amount must be less than 22.5% of your gross monthly income.
For a cooling off period, Illinois law requires a cooling off period of seven days after 45 consecutive loan days.
Illinois enacted protections for consumers in 2011. Payday loans must be based on how much the recipient can afford to pay and unlimited rollovers are prohibited. The Illinois Attorney General advises exhausting all other options before pursuing payday loans as their high fees can result in long-term debt.
Payday loans and installment payday loans can be a good way of making it through a rough financial time. As long as you budget for the high cost caused by the interest, you should be able to handle a loan. Fortunately, Illinois law bans rollovers/refinancing, so you won’t have to worry about being charged extra interest should you default on your loan.
It’s important to remember that these are high-cost loans for short-term problems. If you’re having trouble managing your money, you should seek financial counseling. In addition, the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) and DHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families can help you make your bills more affordable while you’re trying to pay for an unexpected expense or balancing your budget.
You can apply online or in-store. You’ll need to provide some basic information about yourself and your finances. Lenders require that you be at least 18 years old, be a US citizen or permanent resident and have a regular source of income.
In addition, you’ll have to provide personal details, including your Social Security number and a valid form of ID. Online lenders often require that you provide access to your checking account where your loan will be deposited and your payment debited.
State laws permit you to have two outstanding payday loans at a time. However, you cannot get a payday loan if it results in you being indebted to one or more payday lenders for a period exceeding 45 consecutive days.
You can contact the Illinois Division of Financial Institutions or the Illinois Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Yes. You can request a payment plan after 35 days of outstanding debt. Note that once you are enrolled in a repayment plan, you will no longer accrue interest and won’t be charged additional fees.
Keep in mind that payment plans arem’t available for installment payday plans.
Aliyyah Camp is a SEO content strategist and former publisher at Finder, specializing in consumer and business lending. Her writing and analysis has been featured in CentSai, the Dough Roller and the Chicago Tribune. She holds a BA in communication from the University of Pennsylvania.
Don’t apply for a payday loan in Chicago, before you read this guide.
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