§ 2-15 — Verification

(a) Before entering into a loan agreement with a consumer, a lender must use a commercially reasonable method of verification to verify that the proposed loan agreement is permissible under this Act. (b) Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act, the Department shall certify that one or more consumer reporting service databases are commercially reasonable methods of verification. Upon certifying that a consumer reporting service database is a commercially reasonable method of verification, the Department shall: (1) provide reasonable notice to all licensees identifying the commercially reasonable methods of verification that are available; and (2) immediately upon certification, require each licensee to use a commercially reasonable method of verification as a means of complying with subsection (a) of this Section. (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all personally identifiable information regarding any consumer obtained by way of the certified database and maintained by the Department is strictly confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure under Section 7(1)(b)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a consumer seeking a payday loan may make a direct inquiry to the consumer reporting service to request a more detailed explanation of the basis for a consumer reporting service's determination that the consumer is ineligible for a new payday loan. (e) In certifying a commercially reasonable method of verification, the Department shall ensure that the certified database: (1) provides real-time access through an Internet connection or, if real-time access through an Internet connection becomes unavailable to lenders due to a consumer reporting service's technical problems incurred by the consumer reporting service, through alternative verification mechanisms, including, but not limited to, verification by telephone; (2) is accessible to the Department and to licensees in order to ensure compliance with this Act and in order to provide any other information that the Department deems necessary; (3) requires licensees to input whatever information is required by the Department; (4) maintains a real-time copy of the required reporting information that is available to the Department at all times and is the property of the Department; (5) provides licensees only with a statement that a consumer is eligible or ineligible for a new payday loan and a description of the reason for the determination; and (6) contains safeguards to ensure that all information contained in the database regarding consumers is kept strictly confidential. (f) The licensee shall update the certified database by inputting all information required under item (3) of subsection (e): (1) on the same day that a payday loan is made; (2) on the same day that a consumer elects a repayment plan, as provided in Section 2-40; and (3) on the same day that a consumer's payday loan is paid in full. (g) A licensee may rely on the information contained in the certified database as accurate and is not subject to any administrative penalty or liability as a result of relying on inaccurate information contained in the database. (h) The certified consumer reporting service shall indemnify the licensee against all claims and actions arising from illegal or willful or wanton acts on the part of the certified consumer reporting service. (i) The certified consumer reporting service may charge a verification fee not to exceed $1 upon a loan being made or entered into the database. The certified consumer reporting service shall not charge any additional fees or charges.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-1168, eff. 6-1-19; 101-658, eff. 3-23-21.)