Payday loans and predatory loan interest rates are illegal in at least several EU countries, like Belgium for example (sorry, link in Dutch):<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;economie.fgov.be&#x2F;nl&#x2F;consument&#x2F;consumentenkrediet&#x2F;Kredietkosten&#x2F;Maximale_tarieven&#x2F;#.VqQeCK9ifeQ" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;economie.fgov.be&#x2F;nl&#x2F;consument&#x2F;consumentenkrediet&#x2F;Kred...</a><p>Absolute max APR is 11.5%. Charge more, and the consumer can just walk away from your shark credit without paying any interest.<p>I wonder if there&#x27;s been any scientific research on the effects (or the absence!) of such legislation. Anyone?