The province’s Utility and Review Board is cutting the fees Nova Scotians are charged for payday loans.
The regulator also wants clearer information from payday lenders about how many borrowers are unable to pay up.
Nova Scotians currently pay the second highest payday loan fees in the country: $19 for every $100 borrowed for a payday period of two weeks.
Those fees will be dialed back to $17 on Sept. 1 and to $15 on Jan. 1, 2024.
“I’m happy with it,” said David Roberts, a Halifax lawyer who acts as a consumer advocate. He argued for the changes at a public board hearing in March, part of a regular assessment of the industry every three years.
“They’re lining us up where we should be, which is with the rest of the country,” he said.
Lenders object to fee decrease
A spokesperson for small payday lenders told the UARB that lower fees would be untenable for lenders.
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