§478-4 Rate by written contract. (a) It shall in no case be deemed unlawful, with respect to any consumer credit transaction (except a credit card agreement) and any home business loan to stipulate by written contract, for any rate of simple interest not exceeding one per cent per month or twelve per cent a year or, in the event the creditor is a financial institution regulated under chapter 412 (other than a trust company or a credit union), for any rate of simple interest not exceeding two per cent per month or twenty-four per cent a year.

(b) As an alternative to the rate of interest specified in subsection (a), it shall be lawful with respect to any consumer credit transaction (except a credit card agreement) and any home business loan to stipulate by written contract for the payment and receipt of a finance charge in any form or forms at an annual percentage rate not to exceed twelve per cent, or twenty-four per cent in the event the creditor is a financial institution regulated under chapter 412 (other than a trust company or a credit union), together in either case with any other charges that are excluded or excludable from the determination of finance charge under the Truth in Lending Act. The rates in this subsection shall be available as alternative permissible rates for any of the credit transactions referred to, whether in fact or in law the Truth in Lending Act applies to the transaction, notwithstanding the advance, fixed, or variable manner in which interest or finance charge may be computed under the contract, and whether the contract uses the terms interest, annual percentage rate, finance charge, or any combination of such terms. For rate computation purposes, with respect to any contract to which this subsection may apply, the creditor conclusively shall be presumed to have given all disclosures in the manner, form, and at the time contemplated by the Truth in Lending Act, including those necessary to exclude any charges from the finance charge.

(c) With respect to any transaction other than a consumer credit transaction, a home business loan, or a credit card agreement, it shall be lawful to stipulate by written contract for any rate of interest not otherwise prohibited by law.

(d) The rate limitations contained in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and section 478-11.5 shall not apply to any credit transaction authorized by, and entered into in accordance with the provisions of, articles 9 and 10 of chapter 412 or chapter 476.

(e) With respect to a credit card agreement, it shall be lawful to stipulate by written contract any amount of interest authorized by section 478-11.5. [CC 1859, §1482; am L 1898, c 4, §3; RL 1925, §3587; RL 1935, §7052; RL 1945, §8733; RL 1955, §191-3; HRS §478-3; ren and am L 1986, c 137, pt of §1; am L 1993, c 350, §§24, 25; am L 2006, c 307, §1]

Law Journals and Reviews

Administering Justice or Just Administration: The Hawaii Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals. 14 UH L. Rev. 271.

Case Notes

Cited: 11 H. 747, 748; 36 H. 107, 108; 49 H. 160, 171, 413 P.2d 221.