How South Carolina’s Extended Payment Plan Works
South Carolina law caps a payday loan at $550 in principal with a maximum term of 31 days, under S.C. Code Ann. § 34-39-110 et seq. The most a lender can charge is 15% of the principal in fees, which works out to an APR of about 391% on the shortest 14-day term, or roughly 177% if the loan runs the full 31 days.
When your due date arrives and you can’t repay in full, the same chapter of state law steps in. The lender can’t simply collect the whole balance on the spot or write you a second loan on top of the first. By law, the lender must put you on an extended payment plan, called an EPP, built on the loan you already have rather than a new one.
Elite Payday Loans operates as a direct lender to South Carolina borrowers under this same statute, so an EPP request runs through the loan file already on record with us.
The Once-a-Year Right, and the 28-Day Minimum
South Carolina limits the extended payment plan to once a year, and every loan is logged in the state database, which is how a lender checks whether you’ve already used your EPP since your last one before approving another. If your last plan fell within the last year, you’re not eligible for a new one until that window rolls over.
The plan itself runs at least 28 days, a minimum set directly by state law, on top of the loan’s original term. That’s roughly a month of extra time layered onto your due date, so instead of owing the whole balance in one payment, you keep making payments on the schedule Elite Payday Loans sets during that stretch, spreading the payoff across more of your pay cycles.
Asking for a Plan Before Your Due Date
Reach out to Elite Payday Loans before your due date if you know you won’t be able to repay in full. The plan isn’t automatic, so even though state law requires we offer it, you still have to ask before we can set one up, and doing that online is the fastest route:
- Submit your request through our application form before the due date on your current loan.
- Have your loan reference number and due date ready so we can match the request to your account without delay.
- Elite Payday Loans applies the plan to the loan you already have.
Requesting a plan after the due date has already passed limits what we can do, since the EPP is built to replace a missed payment before it happens rather than undo one after the fact. You can also speak with us at one of our locations if you’d rather handle it in person, though starting online gets you a faster answer, especially close to a due date.
What the Law Requires If You Can’t Repay on Time
South Carolina does not allow rollovers, so a lender can’t take your unpaid balance and roll it into a second loan with new fees stacked on top. What the law requires instead is the extended payment plan: if you can’t pay on the original due date, the lender must offer you the EPP rather than push the loan forward or send it straight to collections without giving you that option first.
A rollover would leave you carrying two sets of fees on two loans, while the EPP keeps you on the one loan you already took out, just repaid over a longer stretch.
Where the Law Is Written
South Carolina’s payday lending statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 34-39-110 et seq., sets out the loan caps, the fee limit, the rollover ban and the extended payment plan requirement together in one chapter. You can read the full text at the South Carolina Legislature’s website. For other questions about how Elite Payday Loans handles applications and repayment, visit our FAQ page.
