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Payday law · Alberta

Payday Loan Laws in Alberta

August 2026 · Checked against current provincial lending rules

Alberta is a designated province. Part 12.1 of the Consumer Protection Act governs payday loans: lenders must be licensed and s. 124.61 caps the total cost of borrowing at 14% of principal.

Payday lending in Alberta: permitted, licensed

Educational information, not legal advice

We are not lawyers and hold no legal accreditation of any kind. Everything below is our own reading and interpretation of publicly available laws, offered purely for education. It is not legal advice and may be incomplete or out of date. Laws change and exceptions apply. Confirm anything that matters with the cited official source or a qualified legal professional before relying on it.

Alberta is a designated province. Part 12.1 of the Consumer Protection Act governs payday loans: lenders must be licensed and s. 124.61 caps the total cost of borrowing at 14% of principal.

Designated province

Alberta is designated under Criminal Code s. 347.1, so licensed payday lenders may operate. The governing Act is the Consumer Protection Act, Part 12.1 (Payday Loans), overseen by Service Alberta (Director of Fair Trading). The maximum cost of borrowing is $14 per $100 borrowed.

The national rules that apply here

Every jurisdiction starts from the same federal baseline. The Criminal Code caps interest at an effective 35% per year[7], and section 347.1 carves out payday loans only where the province is designated and the lender is licensed[6].

“The Governor in Council shall, by order and at the request of the lieutenant governor in council of a province, designate the province for the purposes of this section if the province has legislative measures that protect recipients of payday loans and that provide for limits on the total cost of borrowing under the agreements.”[9]— Criminal Code, s. 347.1(3) — designation of province

Alberta's carve-outs and exemptions

Beneath the national baseline, Alberta sets its own specifics through the Consumer Protection Act, Part 12.1 (Payday Loans), administered by Service Alberta (Director of Fair Trading)[1]. The points below are where the province departs from, or gives effect to, the federal framework:

  • Section 124.61(1) caps the total cost of borrowing at 14% of the principal of the payday loan[1] — matching the federal $14-per-$100 limit in force since January 1, 2025[5].
  • Section 124.61(2) requires that cap to include the fees for all mandatory and optional services, so add-on fees cannot be stacked on top[2].
  • On default only, s. 124.61(3) permits interest at 2.5% per month, not compounded, plus a one-time Director-set fee per dishonoured cheque or pre-authorized debit[3].
  • If a lender breaks these rules (s. 124.7), the borrower owes only the principal — every other charge falls away[4].
  • A provincial payday-lender licence is mandatory under Part 13.

Our reading: because the federal cost limit of $14 per $100[5] now sits at or below the older provincial figures, it is the effective cap in Alberta today. A licensed lender pricing within that limit, on a loan of $1,500 or less for 62 days or less, fits inside the carve-out[6].

What this means for businesses listed here

A business may be classified as a payday lender in Alberta when its location and offering are consistent with licensed payday lending under the Consumer Protection Act, Part 12.1 (Payday Loans). We expect operators to hold the required provincial licence; where that is unclear we flag the listing for review.

References

  1. Consumer Protection Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. C-26.3, Part 12.1 (Payday Loans), s. 124.61(1). Alberta King's Printer. https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=c26p3.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779862993&display=html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“A payday lender shall not charge, require or accept a total cost of borrowing that exceeds 14% of the principal amount of the payday loan.”
  2. Consumer Protection Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. C-26.3, s. 124.61(2). Alberta King's Printer. https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=c26p3.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779862993&display=html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“The maximum total cost of borrowing under subsection (1) must include the fees for all mandatory and optional services provided by the payday lender in relation to a payday loan and any other fees or charges set out in the regulations.”
  3. Consumer Protection Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. C-26.3, s. 124.61(3). Alberta King's Printer. https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=c26p3.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779862993&display=html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“In addition to the cost set out in subsection (1), if a borrower fails to repay the amount specified in the payday loan agreement, the payday lender may charge the following: (a) interest at a rate of 2.5% per month, not to be compounded; (b) a one-time fee in an amount determined by the Director for each dishonoured cheque or dishonoured pre-authorized debit.”
  4. Consumer Protection Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. C-26.3, s. 124.7. Alberta King's Printer. https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=c26p3.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779862993&display=html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“If, in respect of section 124.2, 124.21, 124.3, 124.5(2) or (4), 124.51(1), (2) or (4), 124.6 or 124.61, any requirement is not complied with or any prohibition is contravened, (a) all amounts in respect of the payday loan except the principal cease to be permissible charges, and (b) the borrower is not liable to pay the payday lender any amount that exceeds the principal of the payday loan.”
  5. Criminal Interest Rate Regulations, SOR/2024-114. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2024-114/FullText.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“For the purposes of paragraph 347.1(2)(a.1) of the Criminal Code, the limit on the total cost of borrowing under a payday loan agreement is 14% of the amount of money advanced to the borrower under the agreement.”
  6. Criminal Code, s. 347.1(2) — non-application (payday exemption conditions). Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-347.1.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“Section 347 and section 2 of the Interest Act do not apply to a person … if (a) the amount of money that is or would be advanced under the agreement is $1,500 or less and the term of the agreement is or would be 62 days or less; (a.1) the total cost of borrowing under the agreement does not or would not exceed the limit fixed by regulation; (b) the person is licensed or otherwise specifically authorized under the laws of a province to enter into the agreement; and (c) the province is designated under subsection (3).”
  7. Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 347 (criminal interest rate). Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-347.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“criminal rate means an annual percentage rate of interest calculated in accordance with generally accepted actuarial practices and principles that exceeds 35 per cent on the credit advanced”
  8. Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 347.1 (payday loans). Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-347.1.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“payday loan means an advancement of money in exchange for a post-dated cheque, a pre-authorized debit or a future payment of a similar nature but not for any guarantee, suretyship, overdraft protection or security on property and not through a margin loan, pawnbroking, a line of credit or a credit card.”
  9. Criminal Code, s. 347.1(3) — designation of province. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-347.1.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).“The Governor in Council shall, by order and at the request of the lieutenant governor in council of a province, designate the province for the purposes of this section if the province has legislative measures that protect recipients of payday loans and that provide for limits on the total cost of borrowing under the agreements.”
  10. Payday loans — Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/loans/payday-loans.html (retrieved 2026-08-24).

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