Payday Loans and Cash Advance in Mississippi

Legal under the Check Cashers Act. Below: the law, the limits, what $300 costs here, who regulates it, and how to request a cash advance online in Mississippi.

Is a Cash Advance Legal in Mississippi?

Payday loans are legal in Mississippi. The state calls them delayed deposit checks, and they are governed by the Mississippi Check Cashers Act, Miss. Code Ann. 75-67-501 and following, which the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance enforces. A licensed check casher can accept your personal check, give you cash for it, and hold the check for up to 30 days before depositing it. The law caps the face amount of the check at $500 including the fee, which means the most cash you can actually walk out with is about $410. Fees are fixed by statute at $20 per $100 advanced on smaller checks and $21.95 per $100 on larger ones, and the lender cannot roll the loan over or extend it for another fee. In practice this is one of the more expensive payday markets in the country because the fee is high and the term is short. Mississippi also created a separate installment product in the Credit Availability Act, which lets licensed providers make larger loans repaid over four to twelve months at a monthly handling fee. If you are considering a payday loan here, the numbers below show exactly what the law allows a lender to charge you.

The governing law is Mississippi Check Cashers Act (delayed deposit checks) and Mississippi Credit Availability Act (Miss. Code Ann. 75-67-501 et seq., fee limits at 75-67-519; Miss. Code Ann. 75-67-601 et seq.).

Loan Limits and Terms in Mississippi

The $500 cap is on the face amount of the check, not the cash you receive, so the fee eats into your borrowing room. Mississippi uses two fee tiers: $20 per $100 advanced for checks up to $250, and $21.95 per $100 advanced for checks between $250 and $500. Because a $300 advance produces a check well over $250, it falls in the higher tier and the law requires a written term of 28 to 30 days rather than a two-week payday cycle. You can hold more than one delayed deposit check at a time, but the combined face value across all of them cannot pass $500. Renewals and rollovers are illegal, so a lender who suggests you pay only the fee and keep the loan open is breaking the law and the Department asks you to report it.

What a $300 Loan Costs in Mississippi

A $300 advance produces a check of $365.85, which is over $250, so the higher tier of $21.95 per $100 advanced applies: 3 x $21.95 = $65.85 (Miss. Code 75-67-519). State law requires checks over $250 to run 28 to 30 days, so we use 30 days. APR = 65.85 / 300 x 365 / 30 = 2.67, or about 267%. For comparison, a $200 advance for 14 days at $20 per $100 costs $40, and 40 / 200 x 365 / 14 works out to about 521% APR.

Run your own numbers with the cash advance calculator.

Consumer Protections and Who to Call in Mississippi

• Every payday lender must hold a check casher license from the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, and the Department publishes a current list of licensees on its website so you can verify a storefront or online lender before you sign.
• The lender must give you a written agreement that discloses the amount requested, the annual percentage rate, and the other terms before the transaction, and the total face of your check cannot exceed $500 including the fee.
• Renewing, extending, or rolling over a delayed deposit check by paying only the fee is illegal; the loan must be paid in full before you can enter a new transaction with that lender.
• A lender cannot threaten you with criminal prosecution or use the criminal courts to collect a payday loan; it can only sue you in civil court, and it can recover court costs and attorney fees only if a judge awards them.
• If your check bounces, the lender may charge a single $30 returned check fee, and only if that fee was disclosed in the agreement; it cannot stack repeat returned item charges.
• You can ask the lender to put you on a payment plan if you cannot repay on the due date, though Mississippi law does not require the lender to grant the request.
• Active duty service members and their dependents are covered by the federal Military Lending Act, which caps the total cost of a payday loan at 36% APR regardless of the state fee schedule.

Complaints and licence checks go to the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance: 601-321-6901, dbcf.ms.gov, or file a complaint at the regulator's complaint page. The federal CFPB also takes complaints about any lender.

Online vs Storefront Lenders in Mississippi

Mississippi does not run a separate online payday licensing track. Any company that makes delayed deposit loans to Mississippi residents, whether from a storefront in Jackson or a website hosted elsewhere, needs a check casher license from the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance and must follow the same $500 cap, fee tiers, and rollover ban. Applications and renewals run through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and the Department keeps a public list of licensed check cashers that you can search before you apply. Out-of-state and tribal lenders do advertise to Mississippi borrowers online, and some of them are not licensed here. An unlicensed lender is not operating under state supervision, may charge more than the statute allows, and may be hard to reach when a payment goes wrong. The Department examines licensed check cashers for compliance but has little leverage over a company that never took out a license, which is why its consumer pamphlet tells borrowers to confirm the license first. If an online lender has already drawn more from your bank account than the agreement allows, file the Department's violation reporting form and contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division as well.

Alternatives If a Payday Loan Is Not the Right Fit

Mississippi's main legal alternative to a payday loan is a credit availability loan under the Mississippi Credit Availability Act, Miss. Code Ann. 75-67-601 and following. Licensed providers can open an account of up to $500 repaid in equal payments over four to six months, or a larger account of up to $2,500 repaid over six to twelve months, and may charge a monthly handling fee of up to 25% of the outstanding principal. That is still expensive credit, but the longer schedule and amortizing payments avoid the single balloon payment that makes payday loans hard to escape. Beyond that, federal credit unions offer payday alternative loans of $200 to $2,000 at a 28% APR ceiling set by the National Credit Union Administration, many Mississippi employers now offer earned wage access or a payroll advance, and local community action agencies can help with utility and rent emergencies. A small personal loan from a bank or credit union, or a hardship arrangement with the creditor you owe, will almost always cost less than $21.95 per $100 for a month.

Compare the installment loan and payday alternative loan options before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nearby States

• TennesseeThe fee cap, a worked example and the regulator to call in Tennessee.
• AlabamaThe fee cap, a worked example and the regulator to call in Alabama.
• LouisianaThe fee cap, a worked example and the regulator to call in Louisiana.
• ArkansasThe fee cap, a worked example and the regulator to call in Arkansas.