EasyPay Finance, a rent-a-bank lender that operated in D.C., will pay more than $215,000 to resolve allegations that it used predatory practices to deceive hundreds of residents into paying interest rates significantly above the city’s legally allowed minimum rate, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said Wednesday.
Plus, EasyPay must follow strict operational conditions going forward to ensure that the company no longer takes advantage of District consumers and complies with city consumer protection laws.
“This investigation and settlement shut down EasyPay’s practice of offering predatory loans at outrageous high-interest rates to District borrowers,” Schwalb said. “Using out-of-state banks as a cover to attempt to circumvent District laws, EasyPay charged customers exorbitant interest rates average 163% APR — roughly seven times higher than D.C.’s 24% limit-trapping consumers in cycles of debt that threatened to ruin their credit scores and financial security. My office will continue to aggressively fully enforce D.C.’s consumer protections of the law and will pursue every avenue to prevent out-of-state lenders from evading the District’s interest rate cap.”
EasyPay operated out of two District locations. As a result of the OAG’s investigation and action, EasyPay must pay a total of $216,548 to provide full restitution to affected consumers and cover payment to the District, $156,548.83 and $60,000, respectively.
Other measures include stopping the use of out-of-state banks to charge rates above the District’s legal cap, deleting negative credit reporting, and ceasing collection on defaulted loans.