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Capped at 36% — with an exclusion for up to $200 a year in application and membership fees that do not count toward it.
NH RSA 399-A — Regulation of Small Loans, Title Loans and Payday Loans
New Hampshire caps the annual percentage rate on small loans at 36 percent. Then the statute adds something most summaries omit: notwithstanding the federal definition of APR, the finance charge excludes one application fee of up to $100 per borrower per year, and one participation or membership fee of up to $100 per borrower per year.New Hampshire · StatuteNH RSA 399-A:16(I) — the annual percentage rate for small loans shall not exceed 36 percent; notwithstanding the federal definition of annual percentage rate, the finance charge shall exclude one application fee not to exceed $100 per borrower per year and one participation or membership fee not to exceed $100 per borrower per year
So up to $200 a year in charges does not count toward the 36%. On a small loan that is a material difference between the headline number and what you pay.
Check your agreement for an application fee and a participation or membership fee. They are lawful, and they are outside the cap.
The Banking Department states that RSA 399-A applies to a loan made in New Hampshire or with a New Hampshire consumer — including loans done over the internet.New Hampshire · RegulatorNew Hampshire Banking Department — RSA 399-A defines a small loan as one made in NH or with a NH consumer; loans done over the internet with a NH consumer count
And "lender" reaches everyone in the chain: lead generating, taking an application or brokering while using a financial institution to fund the loan, funding, and holding servicing rights.
That middle clause is the anti-evasion provision. It captures the bank-partnership model by naming the broker rather than the bank.
A small loan means a title loan, payday loan, open-end or closed-end loan that is $10,000 or less and carries an APR of 10 percent or more. That is a wide net — wider than the payday product most people picture.
Licensees are examined at least every 24 months and must file annual reports by 31 March.
You can revoke authorisation and instruct your bank to stop the payment, whatever your agreement says.
What Regulation E says about automatic payments →
A payday loan is a consumer debt. If it goes unpaid, two New Hampshire rules decide what a lender can do next: how long it has to sue you, and how much of your pay a court can order taken.
Being sued over an old payday loan? A collector can still file, but the time limit is a defence you can raise — and you cannot be jailed for the debt. What can and cannot happen if you don’t pay →