# Do credit cards have to have interest rates below usury levels?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-credit-cards-have-to-have-interest-rates-below-usury-levels/184250>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 25, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-credit-cards-have-to-have-interest-rates-below-usury-levels/184250 "2003-06-25T07:19:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Calculus_of_Logic)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-credit-cards-have-to-have-interest-rates-below-usury-levels/184250/1 "2003-06-25T07:19:12Z")

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Or can they charge whatever APR they want? I’ve heard there are usury levels, but that was just a blurb in an article once.

If they must have APR levels below usury levels, what is the national maximum APR (in the US)? If there isn’t a national maximum APR and it varies by state then what is Indiana’s maximum?

If there is a maximum, are there ways they can get around it so they can charge usury rates but not break the law?

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**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-credit-cards-have-to-have-interest-rates-below-usury-levels/184250/2 "2003-06-25T10:11:40Z")

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Most legislature against usurous levels of interest was done away with about twenty years ago.

Shop around. Get a better card.