Payday loans in South Carolina: what the law allows

“(A) A licensee may defer the presentment or deposit of a check for up to thirty-one days pursuant to the provisions of this section. (B) The total amount advanced by a licensee to any customer at one time for deferred presentment or deposit may not exceed five hundred fifty dollars, exclusive of the fees allowed in Section 34-39-180(E). A licensee may not advance to a customer an amount for deferred presentment or deposit which causes this limit to be exceeded by the customer. (C) Each check must be documented by a written agreement signed by both the customer and the licensee. The written agreement must contain the name or trade name of the licensee, the transaction date, the amount of the check, and a statement of the total amount of fees charged, expressed both as a dollar amount and as an effective annual percentage rate (APR). The written agreement must authorize expressly the licensee to defer presentment or deposit of the check until a specific date, not later than thirty-one days from the date the check is accepted by the licensee. (D) The board shall require each licensee to issue a standardized consumer notification and disclosure form in compliance with state and federal truth-in-lending laws before entering into a deferred presentment agreement. (E) A licensee shall not charge, directly or indirectly, a fee or other consideration in excess of fifteen percent of the principal amount of the transaction for accepting a check for deferred presentment or deposit. The fee or other consideration authorized by this subsection may be imposed only once for each written agreement. Records must be kept by each licensee with sufficient detail to ensure that the fee or other consideration authorized by this subsection may be imposed only once for each written agreement. (F) A check accepted for deferred presentment or deposit pursuant to this chapter may not be repaid from the proceeds of another check accepted for deferred presentment or deposit by the same licensee or an affiliate of the licensee. A licensee shall not renew or otherwise extend presentment of a check or withhold the check from deposit, for old or new consideration, for a period beyond the time set forth in the written agreement with the customer.”