{"data":{"id":"us-il/815-ilcs-124-5","jurisdiction":"us-il","citation":"815 ILCS 124/5","heading":"Applicability.","body":"(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, this Act applies to any person, including any affiliate or subsidiary of a person, that offers or makes a loan, buys a whole or partial interest in a loan, arranges a loan for a third party, or acts as an agent for a third party in making a loan to a consumer, regardless of whether approval, acceptance, or ratification by the third party is necessary to create a legal obligation for the third party, and includes any other person or entity if the Department determines that the person or entity is engaged in a transaction that is in substance a disguised loan or a subterfuge for the purpose of avoiding this Act. This Act applies to loan transactions conducted by any medium, including, but not limited to, paper, facsimile, Internet, or telephone. This Act also applies to any servicer of a loan offered or made under this Act. This Act does not apply to a merchant or merchant platform that makes a buy-now-pay-later loan available to a consumer through an agreement with a licensed buy-now-pay-later lender or person exempt from this Act, if the merchant or merchant platform does not originate, underwrite, service, or hold an ownership interest in any buy-now-pay-later loan. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, this Act also does not apply to a person who buys, acquires, or holds a partial interest in a loan as a passive investor, but does not otherwise originate, underwrite, or service the loan or control the servicing of the loan.\n(b) The provisions of this Act apply to any person that seeks to evade its applicability by any device, subterfuge, or pretense or making, offering, assisting, or arranging for a consumer to obtain a loan with a greater rate of interest, consideration, or charge than is permitted by this Act through any method, including mail, telephone, Internet, or any electronic means, regardless of whether the person or entity has a physical location in this State.\n(c) The provisions of this Act apply to any person that facilitates or aids or abets a violation of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.\n(d) Banks, savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and insurance companies organized, chartered, or holding a certificate of authority to do business under the laws of this State, any other state, or the United States are exempt from the provisions of this Act and rules adopted under this Act. The Secretary may exempt from this Act other persons or transactions by rule on a finding that the application of the Act to the persons or transactions is not necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act.\n(e) A person is a lender subject to this Act, regardless of any claim that the person is acting as an agent, service provider, or in another capacity for a person that is exempt from this Act, if:\n(1) The person holds, acquires, or maintains, directly or indirectly, the predominant economic interest in the loan.\n(2) The person markets, brokers, arranges, or facilitates the loan and holds the right, requirement, or first right of refusal to purchase the loan or receivables or interests in the loan.\n(3) The totality of the circumstances indicates that the person is the lender and that the transaction is structured to evade the requirements of this Act. Circumstances that support a finding that a person is a lender include, without limitation:\n(A) The person indemnifies, insures, or protects an exempt person or entity for any costs or risks related to the loan.\n(B) The person predominantly designs, controls, or operates the loan program.\n(C) The person purports to act as an agent, service provider, or in another capacity for a person exempt from this Act while acting directly as a lender in other states.","path":["CHAPTER 815 BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS","Buy-Now-Pay-Later Loan Consumer Protection Act."],"source_url":"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=4686\u0026ChapterID=67\u0026ChapAct=FullText\u0026Print=True","current_through":"at least Public Act 104-790","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-15T04:46:47Z","sha256":"59a507ff3ff32581678009fb7f88084488946045978d6625c665903fdec5640e","source_id":"us-il","stale":false,"prev":"us-il/815-ilcs-124-4","next":"us-il/815-ilcs-124-5.5"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}