2026 Legislative Debrief

2026 Legislative Session Debrief

Here at Exodus Lending, we refinance predatory loan debt to 0% interest with zero fees. The Minnesotans we work with each day bring us their stories (and loan paperwork) detailing the infuriating ways that lenders are evading Minnesota’s 36% interest rate cap (a rate cap that Minnesotans fought hard for).

One of these evasions comes in the form of payday loan apps. These fast-growing products too often escape the scrutiny applied to traditional payday lenders. We invested in issue education, met with legislators to raise the alarm, and held listening sessions across Minnesota to hear directly from people who have used these apps. What we heard reinforced what we already knew: these products cause real harm to real people, and they deserve real regulation.

In the spring of 2026, we advocated for legislation in both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature to bring payday loan apps under appropriate consumer protections. In the House, our bill was introduced with two authors. Thank you to Rep. Koegel and Rep. Frederick for your leadership and commitment to Minnesota borrowers. In the Senate, our bill found three champions. Thank you to Senators Maye Quade, Marty, and Latz for bringing this fight to the Senate.

The payday loan industry also came to the Capitol. They introduced a bill that would have carved their product out of the rate cap entirely. We showed up in force with live and written testimony, and most powerfully, four Minnesotans who have personally used these apps and were willing to share their stories publicly. We are in awe of their wisdom and power. Their voices made a difference.

In the end, neither the industry bill nor our advocates’ bill moved forward. We are claiming that as a win, especially considering similar bad industry bills have become bad laws in about a dozen states.

We are not alone in this work, and our allies are moving, too. This June, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against one such payday loan app, Brigit, alleging the company violated state payday lending laws by operating as an unlicensed lender. Brigit markets its product as “Instant Cash” advances and claims that Minnesota’s payday lending laws do not apply. But AG Ellison alleges that Brigit has issued tens of thousands of small, short-term loans to Minnesotans without complying with state requirements, and that annual percentage rates on those loans regularly exceed 300%, with some topping 700%. This is the exact kind of harm we have been raising the alarm about (via our mascot Finneas (opens in a new tab)). We are grateful the Attorney General is on our side!

In addition to our advocacy work around payday loan apps, this year we became a founding supporter and fiscal sponsor of the new Minnesotans for Consumer Financial Protection (MCFP) coalition, which will be driving awareness, advocacy, and accountability across the state on issues of spending, saving, borrowing, and investing. This is the kind of collective power that changes policy.
Learn more on their website: protectmnconsumers.org (opens in a new tab)

We hope you will stay engaged with us. The best way to stay in the loop is through our newsletter and social media channels. We look forward to the next session and all the good work we’ll do leading up to it.

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