MI: AFC Letter to Michigan House of Representatives in Support of HB 5161

November 4, 2025
Michigan House of Representatives
Committee on Regulatory Reform
House Office Building
124 N Capitol Ave
Room 519
Lansing, MI 48933

Re: Support for House Bill 5161

Dear Chair Aragona, Majority Vice-Chair Fairbairn, Minority Vice-Chair Liberati, and members of the House Regulatory Reform Committee:

On behalf of the American Fintech Council (AFC), I am writing to express our strong support for House Bill 5161 (HB 5161), which sets the interest rate cap on consumer credit in Michigan to 36%. HB 5161was assigned to your committee on October 29, 2025.

AFC is the premier trade association representing the largest financial technology (fintech) companies, including fintech lenders and their innovative bank partners. As a standards-based organization, our mission is to promote a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting responsible innovation in financial services and encouraging sound public policy. AFC members foster competition in consumer finance and pioneer products to better serve underserved consumers.

Responsible fintech companies provide consumers with access to modern financial services through innovation, including democratizing access to credit. Fintech companies help consumers consolidate personal debt, pay off high-interest credit card balances, and finance other personal projects. In particular, fintech companies reach minority and rural communities often left behind by legacy financial institutions. AFC members safely serve millions of Americans every day and we are proud to work with lawmakers to eliminate triple digit interest rates that put too many distressed families into debt traps.

AFC has long recognized the importance of developing a robust lending ecosystem for borrowers, especially those who live in historically underserved communities. The cornerstone of AFC’s policy agenda is support for a 36% interest rate cap for consumer credit products. These loans are both affordable to borrowers and give lenders the flexibility to support more customers in achieving their financial goals. By increasing Michigan’s maximum interest rate from 25% to 36%, HB 5161 gives more of your constituents access to credit, and ultimately, financial empowerment.

As consistently demonstrated through our members’ work, responsible bank-fintech partnerships can improve access to credit for borrowers and, in so doing, provide them with greater opportunities for maintaining their financial well-being. Critical to that work is ensuring that a pragmatic lending environment exists within the state. Therefore, we applaud Representative Curtis VanderWall for introducing HB 5161 to expand access to credit for Michigan consumers and hope you will report the bill favorably out of your committee.  

Sincerely,

Ashley Urisman
Director of State Government Affairs
American Fintech Council

CC: Representative Curtis VanderWall

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