Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state before you talk to any lender. Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state.
Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Rhode Island
14 credit unions are headquartered in Rhode Island, with 506,866 members in total. 6 are federal credit unions and 8 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 14
- Members
- 506,866
- Federal
- 6
- State-chartered
- 8
- Members per 100 people
- 46
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.3
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has 14 credit unions headquartered here and 9 payday, installment and title loan stores. Local credit unions count 506,866 members — roughly 46 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
14
1.3 per 100k residents
506,866 members
Payday & loan stores
9
0.8 per 100k residents
2 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Rhode Island: Advance America (8), loanDepot (1).
What a $500 loan costs over 3 months
| Option | Payment | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan, re-borrowed 6 times (~261% APR) | $50.00 every 2 weeks | $300.00 |
| Credit union PAL, 3 monthly payments (28% APR + $20 fee) | $174.50 a month | $43.51 |
- You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months
- $256.49 payday costs 7× more
Payday: the RI maximum — $50 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks, paid again each time the loan is renewed or taken out again (6 times in 3 months). PAL: payday alternative loan from a federal credit union, capped at 28% APR with an application fee of up to $20.
What it means for a household in Rhode Island
- Median household income
- $89,026
- Payday fee of $50, share of two weeks' income
- 1.5%
- Hours of work to pay the $50 fee
- 2.4 hours
- PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income
- 2.4%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.6 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 15.7%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 11.5%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Rhode Island are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Rhode Island
| Payday loan in RI | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Allowed | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Loan amount | $500 | $200 – $2,000 |
| Fee limit | 10% of check amount ($50) | Application fee up to $20 |
| Typical APR | ~261% | Up to 28% |
| Term | Usually 2–4 weeks, due in one payment | 1 to 12 months, in installments |
| Credit check | Usually none; a bank account and income are required | Membership required; payments can be reported to credit bureaus |
Payday rules: Rhode Island law as summarized on our Rhode Island payday page. PAL rules: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) rules for federal credit unions (PAL I and PAL II); state-chartered credit unions may offer similar small loans.
Credit unions by city in Rhode Island
Credit unions are headquartered in 11 cities and towns across Rhode Island. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Rhode Island
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigant Credit UnionState-chartered | Smithfield | 170,060 | navigantcu.org |
| Coastal1 Credit UnionState-chartered | Pawtucket | 146,898 | coastal1.org |
| Greenwood Credit UnionState-chartered | Warwick | 59,046 | greenwoodcu.org |
| The Peoples Credit UnionState-chartered | Middletown | 41,028 | peoplescu.com |
| Rhode Island Credit UnionState-chartered | Warwick | 27,935 | ricu.com |
| Ocean State Credit UnionState-chartered | Coventry | 22,117 | oceanstatecu.org |
| Westerly Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Wakefield | 21,705 | westerlyccu.com |
| Wave Federal Credit UnionFederal | Warwick | 6,872 | wavefcu.org |
| Blackstone River Federal Credit UnionFederal | Woonsocket | 4,290 | blackstoneriverfcu.org |
| Cranston Municipal Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Cranston | 3,159 | cmecu.org |
| Community & Teachers Federal Credit UnionFederal | East Providence | 1,541 | ctfcu.com |
| Pawtucket Municipal Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Pawtucket | 1,372 | coastal1.org |
| Cumberland Municipal Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Cumberland | 814 | cumberlandcu.org |
| Natco Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Warwick | 29 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Rhode Island
Other cities and towns in Rhode Island where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Coventry 1
- Cumberland 1
- East Providence 1
- Middletown 1
- Smithfield 1
- Wakefield 1
- West Warwick 1
- Woonsocket 1
Credit unions are listed in the city of their headquarters; many have branches in other cities and accept members from across the state or the country, so members per 100 people is an approximation.