Personal Loans in Wyoming: What Licensed Lenders May Charge

How the Wyoming rate limit works

Section 40-14-348 sets the loan finance charge as a yearly rate on the unpaid principal under the actuarial method. The lender may use whichever of two methods gives the higher charge, so a small loan carries a higher blended rate than a large one.

On a loan with an initial principal above $75,000, the statute allows the finance charge stated in the loan agreement. The lender may present the charge as add-on, discount or a single annual percentage rate, as long as it stays within the limit. On a precomputed loan, prepayment refunds follow the rebate rules in W.S. 40-14-319.

Here is the blended rate worked out. A $2,000 loan over 24 months, charged 36% on the balance up to $1,000 and 21% on the rest, has a level payment of about $113.29 and an APR of about 31.4%. The same method on $10,000 over 60 months gives about $282.87 a month and an APR of about 23.2%. These figures are our calculation, an example, not an offer.

How Wyoming compares with its neighbors

On the NCLC comparison of a $2,000 two-year loan, Nebraska caps that loan at about 30% APR, Colorado at 31%, and Montana and South Dakota at 36%. Idaho and Utah set no numeric cap and rely on an unconscionability standard. Your state of residence and the lender's license decide which rules apply, not where the lender is based. The state rules map shows every state side by side.

Who needs a license and who does not

The Wyoming Division of Banking licenses consumer lenders under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, citing W.S. 40-14-304(a). A consumer lender license covers companies that originate consumer loans or buy the rights to non-defaulted loans. A license is needed for every location where business is regularly conducted, including online, and applications and annual renewals go through NMLS.

• Regularly conducted means, in the Division's words, extending credit more than 25 times a year in deals not secured by a home, or more than five times a year in deals secured by a home.
• Retailers and dealers that extend credit for their own goods or services register with the Division instead of getting a lender license.
• Banks and credit unions answer to their own charters and banking regulators, and a bank may charge the rates its home state allows. If an online lender says a bank makes your loan, ask who the lender of record is.
• Payday loans are made by post-dated check cashers under a separate license. Our sister site Lendmira covers them on its Wyoming lending laws page.

Check a lender and file a complaint

1. 1 Look up the license on the Division's licensee list or in NMLS Consumer Access before you apply.
2. 2 Check the APR on the disclosure against about 31% for a $2,000 loan and about 23% for a $10,000 loan.
3. 3 Keep the loan papers: the Truth in Lending disclosure, the agreement and any messages about fees.
4. 4 Complain to the Division of Banking using its complaint instructions, by phone at (307) 777-7797 or by email to WyomingBankingDivision@wyo.gov.
5. 5 Send a complaint to the CFPB as well if the lender is a bank or a bank partner, or if you are unsure who regulates it.

If a lender asks for a fee before it will approve or fund the loan, treat it as a warning sign; how to verify a lender explains what to check.

Questions people ask