17:3B-5. Definitions

Definitions. As used in this act:

a. "Borrower" means a natural person or persons obtaining credit for personal, family or household purposes.

b. "Closed end credit" means the extension of credit by a lender to a borrower pursuant to a note or loan agreement which contains a term of payment and which is not a revolving credit plan.

c. "Credit device" means any card, check, identification code, or other means of identification contemplated by the agreement governing a revolving credit plan.

d. "Lender" means a banking institution as defined in section 1 of P.L. 1948, c. 67 (C. 17:9A-1), a federally chartered savings bank, and an association as defined in section 5 of P.L. 1963, c. 144 (C. 17:12B-5).

e. "Loan" means an advance or extension of credit to a borrower.

f. "Note" or "loan agreement" means a promissory note, bond or other written evidence of the extension by the lender of credit to a borrower.

g. "Outstanding unpaid indebtedness" means, on any day, the amount not in excess of the total amount of purchases and loans charged to the borrower's account under the plan, which is outstanding and unpaid at the end of such day, after adding the aggregate amount of any new purchases and loans charged to the account as of that day and deducting the aggregate amount of any payments and credits applied to that indebtedness as of that day.

h. "Purchases" means an agreement to make payment for property of whatever nature, real or personal, tangible or intangible, and an agreement to make payment for services, licenses, taxes, official fees, fines, private or governmental obligations, or any other thing of value.

i. "Revolving credit plan" or "plan" means a plan contemplating the extension of credit under an account governed by an agreement between a lender and a borrower pursuant to which:

(1) The lender permits the borrower and, if the agreement governing the plan so provides, persons acting on behalf of or with authorization from the borrower, from time to time to make purchases or to obtain loans by use of a credit device;

(2) The amounts of the purchases and loans are charged to the borrower's account under the revolving credit plan;

(3) The borrower is required to pay the lender the amounts of all purchases and loans charged to the borrower's account under the plan but has the privilege of paying those amounts outstanding from time to time in full or in installments; and

(4) Interest may be charged and collected by the lender from time to time on the outstanding unpaid indebtedness under that plan, except that interest shall be calculated on a simple interest basis.

j. "Periodic percentage rate" means a rate of interest on a revolving credit plan or under a closedend credit agreement for a daily, weekly, monthly, annual or other period.

L. 1985, c. 81, s. 2, eff. March 14, 1985.