As of October 3, 2016, most types of consumer loans offered to active-duty servicemembers and their dependents have to comply with the Military Lending Act (MLA). These credit products generally include:
- Payday loans, deposit advance products, and vehicle title loans;
- Overdraft lines of credit, but not traditional overdraft services; and
- Installment loans, with the exceptions noted below.
NOTE: Credit card companies didn’t have to comply with the MLA until October 3, 2017.
There are some loans the MLA doesn’t cover – namely, credit that is secured by the property being purchased. These loans include:
- Residential mortgages (financing to buy or build a home that is secured by the home), mortgage refinances, home equity loans or lines of credit, or reverse mortgages;
- A loan to buy a motor vehicle when the credit is secured by the motor vehicle you are buying; and
- A loan to buy personal property when the credit is secured by the property you’re buying, like jewelry or a home appliance.
The MLA applies to active-duty servicemembers (including those on active Guard or active Reserve duty) and covered dependents.
Your rights under the MLA include:
- A 36% interest cap. You can’t be charged more than a 36% Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR), which generally includes the following costs in calculating your interest rate:
- No mandatory waivers of consumer protection laws. A creditor can’t require you to submit to mandatory arbitration or give up certain rights you have under State or Federal laws, like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
- No mandatory allotments. A creditor can’t require you to create a military allotment to get the loan. An allotment is an automatic amount of money taken from your paycheck to pay back your loan.
- No prepayment penalty. A creditor can’t charge a penalty if you pay back part – or all – of the loan early.
More information about the MLA can be found here. If you have an issue with a consumer loan, you should contact your closest legal assistance (JAG) office . You can also submit a complaint to the CFPB.