Tell your legislators to support S-2141 and H-7211 to stop predatory storefront payday lending now and stop allowing Rhode Islanders to be exploited! And tell them to urge their leadership to advance these bills for committee and floor votes.

Payday lenders are the only lenders who receive a special carve-out from interest rate limits that apply to banks and credit unions. This allows them to charge 260% annual interest rates. By targeting and harming poor communities, payday lenders trap Rhode Islanders in debt and poverty.

Rhode Island is the only state in New England that still allows people to be exploited by storefront payday lenders. In 2022, payday lenders drained $3.0 million in fees from vulnerable Rhode Islanders; in 2018, they drained $7.5 million. There are many better alternatives available for small loans: 6 of the 8 largest banks offer small installment loans or lines of credit – including to people with no or low credit scores.

In 2018, the Rhode Island Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights received testimony and adopted unanimously a report which included the following findings:

• Payday Loans are Targeted at People of Color

• Payday Loans Create a Cycle of Debts

• Payday Loans Adversely Affect the Rhode Island Economy

Payday lending harms struggling Rhode Islanders – allowing these lenders to continue charging triple-digit interest rates is a policy choice. Please urge your legislators to make a different policy choice and repeal the special carve-out for predatory payday lending in Rhode Island.