Florida Payday Loan Laws and Regulations

Are Payday Loans Legal in Florida?

Short-term Payday Loans in Florida are legal and are mostly regulated through  Fl. Stat. Ann. § 560.402 et seq. . The Payday Lending legislation covers all the parts of the process concerning:

• Payday Loan amounts
• Payday Loan repayment terms
• Payday Loan online direct lenders
• Payday Loan stores near you
• Payday Loan interest rates and other fees
• Payday Loan collecting practices
• Payday Loan default penalties
• The number of outstanding Payday Loans as well as a cooling-off period in-between etc.

To see if you’re eligible for a Payday Loan in Florida check out the lenders’ requirements:

• US residence
• Minimum regular income of $1,000 per month
• Valid checking or savings account with direct deposit
• Phone number and e-mail address

Florida allows maximum 31 day(s) Payday Loan amount. It should be repaid within 7 – 31 days days as you get your next paycheck. Earlier payments don’t contemplate any additional fees. The average APR is 304.00%. For other details read further to find out how many Payday Loans you can borrow, whether rollovers or extensions are allowed, etc.

Florida Payday Loan Terms and Amounts

Florida residents who are eligible for a Payday Loan can get $500 cash advance per contract and have no more than 1.00 outstanding loans at a time. The repayment term is capped by minimum 7 day(s) and maximum 31 day(s).

However, there are no limits on the purpose of loan usage. Any urgent expenses, unforeseen bills, car repair, home repair, etc. may seem a sound reason to apply for a Payday Loan in Florida.

If $500 is not enough, there are always other options to receive the necessary funds in Florida: unsecured Installment Loans, bad credit Personal Loans, Title Loans, Check Cashing, Pawn Shops, etc.

Florida Payday Loans online laws

Cash advances (payday loans) from both storefront and online lenders are legal in the state of Florida. Though online Payday Loans in Florida are highly available, you should be careful and apply for instant cash advance only from legal lenders registered in the state’s database. In this case, if you have a problem with a loan or a lending company, you can turn to The Florida Office of Financial Regulations, (850)-487-9687 for help. But if you took an online Payday loan from an out-of-state lender over the Internet or the telephone, the help that Florida can provide may be limited.

Reputable online lenders operating in accordance with all relevant state and federal laws can be applied to and compared on our platform using a simple online application form.

You state the necessary amount, fill in your personal information and get suitable offers from legit direct lenders. It takes only a few minutes and doesn’t affect your credit score. 

Florida Payday Loans interest rates, fees, and other finance charges

The main part of payday loan payment is mostly made up of the interest rate, or APR. The average APR that may be charged for short-term cash advances in Florida is 304.00%. It means that if you borrow $100 Payday Laon for 14 days the finance charges will be 10% for every $100.

Besides, the total cost of a Payday Loan includes some additional fees. Florida lending rules allow charging:

$5 verification fee

The law obligates Florida Payday Loan lenders to provide you with a written disclosure of all the rates and fees in understandable language. You should read them carefully and if you agree acknowledge the notification by signing the contract.

Florida Payday Loans direct lenders regulations

According to Florida payday loan laws, all direct lenders are obliged to register their companies which will allow issuing payday loans contract. It concerns both Online Payday Loans and Payday Loans Near Me.

The main rules regarding Payday loan lenders in Florida are:

• Essential state license.
• Complete disclosure of all the information concerning the loan such as its repayment terms, rates, fees, etc.
• Besides, Florida direct lending companies are recommended to educate the customers on the possible issues related to payday loans. Borrowers must be aware of possible risks, default penalties, and other consequences of short-term loans and their alternatives.
• Florida laws prohibit offensive collecting practices connected with the due loans. Criminal action threats are banned and the lender is required to send a mail notification before starting any legal proceedings against expired contracts.

Nevertheless, you should be careful not to come across any scams. Some unfair lenders can operate without license or under a different license and offer too expensive ‘payday loans’ under illegal conditions. Always check that the lender you are going to apply to works under Florida state law.

Florida Payday Loans consumer information

Besides amounts, rates, and fees, consumers must be also well aware of other details of Payday Loans in Florida. They include the availability and number of rollovers, extensions and repayment plans, a cooling-off period, any default penalties or additional fees, etc. Check out the table below to find the most essential information:

Look for more detailed information on the official Florida state regulator website – https://www.flofr.com/.

Legitimate Payday Loans Online with NO credit check in Florida

Looking for a legal Payday Loan with No credit check in Florida? You must understand the meaning of this phrase correctly at first. No credit check implies that a lender will not inquire about your credit history information from or send your borrowing data to any of the three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

If you don’t want to damage your credit history Florida law allows you to apply for a Payday Loan with No credit check. But you should understand that a lender needs to check your creditworthiness at least in some way. He can perform a soft credit check when a lender pre-approves you for a loan and this inquiry will not appear on your credit report. Or there’re other ways to prove you can afford the cash advance. Payday Loan lenders use the tracking system to verify your debts, check your income, etc. And generally, they charge higher interest to lessen the risks.

Florida Payday loans online no credit check is one of the easiest options for getting quick cash to cope with emergency financial requirements, especially for people with poor credit.

Does Florida law allow Payday Loans for bad credit borrowers?

The average credit score in Florida is 668, placing it in the fair range. But it doesn’t mean that those who have a worse credit can’t apply for a Payday Loan in Florida. 

• First of all, There’re a lot of legit direct lenders in Florida providing Payday cash advance to borrowers with both good and bad credit score.
• Secondly, you can always find a cosigner to increase your chances of being approved for a bad credit Payday Loan.
• Find out how to improve your credit score and do your best to do it fast. 
• Or consider taking out a bad credit Installment Loan, or bad credit Personal Loan.

Legit Payday Loans in Florida collection practices

If you can’t repay the loan amount plus interest on a due date it means you default the loan. Florida law sets the statute of limitations for unpaid debts at five years. This means that if you do not pay back your payday lender, the lender has five years to use the court system to collect the debt.

Even if you failed to pay back the loan on time, the lenders can’t do whatever they want to get the money back, their actions are limited by Florida laws:

• No criminal actions are allowed against you for a bad check.
• The default payment costs are limited to the 10% fee, the $5 cost and any bad check fees imposed by the lender’s bank (if you did not inform the lender in advance that the check could not be honored).
• No additional fees are permitted unless a lawsuit is filed and additional costs are imposed by the court.
• The lender may seek to recover interest on its judgment but it is limited to the judgment rate in the state generally and not a rate based on the payday loan fee.

If you think that your payday lender violates the Florida Payday Loans law, you may file a written complaint with The Florida Office of Financial Regulations, (850)-487-9687. The supervisor from that office interviews witnesses, reviews the payday lender’s business records and documentation, and determine whether to pursue civil or criminal charges

Florida Payday Loans news  – latest changes

In 2001 Florida tried to take a measure to prevent debt traps, but it led to the exact opposite effect: the average APR of a payday loan in Florida is 278%, and over $2.5 billion in fees alone have been stripped from Florida communities by payday lenders since 2005, and a report in 2015 showed that 83 percent of Florida payday loans were made to Floridians stuck in seven or more loans.

In 2019 it was proposed to change regulations for payday lenders in Florida. The House Commerce Committee approved the HB 857 bill to allow businesses to make “installment” loans up to $1,000, with repayment over 60 to 90 days which would be a suitable alternative to Payday Loans available at the amount of $500 for periods of seven to 31 days. Payday Loans are still supported as a need for those who don’t have access to other sources of credit.

But this proposal has faced some opposition from some consumer-advocacy groups and credit unions, which argue that payday loans can lead to borrowers getting stuck in “debt traps.”