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Interest rates, usury caps and loan terms in Uruguay: how the caps work, what counts, default interest and penalties

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Every credit operation is tested against usury caps set as a markup over BCU average rates for the matching segment of the previous rolling quarter: 55 percent for principal below UI 2,000,000 and 90 percent at or above it, rising to 80 and 120 percent once the borrower is in default (Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11). The test uses the implicit effective rate including all fees, insurance and penalties, minus limited exclusions; interbank deals, Treasury and BCU paper, registered public offerings and loans above UI 2,000,000 between non financial companies outside consumer relations are outside the law (art. 2 and 10). Usury voids all interest and charges (art. 21), can be a crime (art. 22), and supervised lenders face fines from UI 10,000 up to UI 20,000,000 or three times the excess (art. 25); the BCU table changes monthly, and the one in force from 1 November 2026 is Comunicación Nº 2026/212.

USD figures use UYU 40.21 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; amounts in Unidades Indexadas (UI) use UYU 6.6792 per UI, the BCU quotation for 27 October 2026, and amounts in Unidades Reajustables (UR) use UYU 1,940.77, the IMPO published UR value for September 2026 (the latest published on 27 October 2026). All were retrieved on 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Principal threshold separating the two usury cap bands	2000000 UILey Nº 18.212 art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Usury markup over BCU average, principal below UI 2,000,000	55 %Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Usury markup over BCU average, principal UI 2,000,000 or more	90 %Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Default interest markup, principal below UI 2,000,000	80 %Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Default interest markup, principal UI 2,000,000 or more	120 %Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Usury cap, US dollar loan up to 366 days to a large company, principal at or above UI 2,000,000, from 1 November 2026	9.234 % effective annualBCU Comunicación Nº 2026/212, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Usury cap, peso fixed rate loan up to 366 days to a medium company, principal below UI 2,000,000, from 1 November 2026	19.8865 % effective annualBCU Comunicación Nº 2026/212, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
BCU average rate, peso fixed rate loans up to 366 days to large companies, July to September 2026	7.71 % effective annualBCU Comunicación Nº 2026/212, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum administrative fine for usury	Higher of UI 20,000,000 or three times the excess collected Ley Nº 18.212 art. 25, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Loans outside the usury law between non financial companies	Above UI 2,000,000 and not a consumer relation Ley Nº 18.212 art. 2 E), as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. The law covers credit operations by any individual or company, meaning one party delivers money, goods or services and the other pays later, including discounting, bills and instruments, and card financing. Excluded are operations between financial intermediaries, BCU operations with supervised entities, Treasury and BCU debt issues, publicly offered securities, and credit operations between non financial companies that do not arise from consumer relations when the credit exceeds UI 2,000,000. The law is of public order.
Cost to do it: No cost; it determines whether the cap analysis applies at all.
Example: A supplier credit of UYU 20,105,000 (US$500,000) between two non financial companies is above UI 2,000,000 (UYU 13,358,400 on 27 October 2026) and outside the law. / A US$300,000 trade credit between the same companies is below the threshold and must respect the caps.Ley Nº 18.212 (Interest Rates and Usury), Art. 1, art. 2 and art. 29, 2007-12-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Only compensatory or default interest may be charged, agreed clearly in the debt document. Default interest applies only to overdue unpaid amounts during the delay and, in instalment loans, only on overdue instalments, never on the whole accelerated balance. Fixed rates must be stated as effective annual rates in percent with at least two decimals, years count as 365 days, variable rates need a reference rate and margin, interest accrues only on balances actually lent, and compensatory and default interest may not be charged on the same amount at the same time. The debt document must separate principal from interest and charges, and the creditor must give the debtor a copy of everything signed.
Cost to do it: Drafting cost only.
Example: A loan agreement quoting 1.5 percent per month without the effective annual equivalent breaches art. 4. / On a US$100,000 loan in default on one US$10,000 instalment, default interest runs only on the US$10,000.Ley Nº 18.212, Art. 3, art. 4, art. 5 and art. 28, 2007-12-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Usury is tested on the implicit rate, the internal rate of return equating the disbursements with the flow of principal, interest, compensation, commissions, expenses, insurance and any other charges, penalty clauses included. Interest is usurious when that rate exceeds the BCU average for the matching segment and term of the rolling quarter before the loan by more than 55 percent where principal is below UI 2,000,000, or by more than 90 percent where it is UI 2,000,000 or more; payroll deduction loans have lower markups of 20 percent (crédito de nómina) or 30 percent. Once in default the markups are 80 percent and 120 percent. Foreign currency amounts are converted through US dollars at the interbank buying rate and the UI value on the date the obligation is agreed.
Cost to do it: No fee; the cap itself is the constraint. UI 2,000,000 equals UYU 13,358,400, about US$332,216, on 27 October 2026.
Example: A medium company peso loan up to 366 days agreed in November 2026 for UYU 4,021,000: average 12.83 percent, cap 19.8865 percent, default cap 23.094 percent. / A large company dollar loan of US$1,000,000 up to 366 days from a bank in November 2026: average 4.86 percent, cap 9.234 percent, default cap 10.692 percent.Ley Nº 18.212, art. 11 as worded by Ley Nº 19.732, Art. 10, art. 11 and art. 12, 2018-12-28 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. For loans by financial institutions, the implicit rate excludes VAT on interest and other taxes legally borne by the client; fixed costs of granting and managing the credit up to UI 30 per client for payroll or automatic debit loans (UI 10 at grant and UI 2 per instalment) and up to UI 120 for other loans (UI 40 at grant and UI 8 per instalment), not again within 60 days; up to UI 10 per use of revolving credit or overdrafts; card annual fees and foreign purchase surcharges; insurance premiums of BCU registered insurers; public guarantee fund commissions; and collection notice costs within BCU limits. Sellers financing their own goods have their own list (up to UI 60 fixed costs).
Cost to do it: Maximum excludable fixed cost on a standard bank loan: UI 120 (UYU 802, about US$20).
Example: A bank charging a UI 40 opening fee and UI 8 per instalment can leave those out of the usury rate; anything above counts. / An arrangement fee of US$2,000 on a US$50,000 consumer loan counts against the cap except for the first UI 40 excludable at grant.Ley Nº 18.212, Art. 14 and art. 15, 2007-12-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. For loans below UI 20,000 of initial principal, contractual default interest lapses automatically 24 months after each amount falls due unless the creditor has sued; afterwards only the statutory adjustment and interest of Decreto Ley Nº 14.500 apply, unless the agreed rate is lower. Where the default cap allows less than UI 50, flat late fees of up to UI 50 may be agreed instead. In loans up to UI 2,000,000, any default must be notified to the guarantor within 60 days, or the guarantor cannot be sued until notice is given, unless the guarantor is a director or manager guaranteeing the company's debt.
Cost to do it: UI 20,000 is about UYU 133,584 (US$3,322); UI 50 is about UYU 334.
Example: A UYU 100,000 consumer loan in default since 2024 stops accruing contractual default interest after 24 months if the lender has not sued. / A bank that forgets to notify a third party guarantor of a US$200,000 SME loan default within 60 days cannot sue that guarantor until it does.Ley Nº 18.212, Art. 19, art. 20 and art. 27, 2007-12-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. If usury is established, the creditor loses the right to all interest, compensation, commissions, expenses and other charges, keeping only court costs on the remaining principal, and charges already collected are deducted from it; judges must raise usury of their own motion. Lending with usurious interest by exploiting a person's need, recklessness or inexperience is punishable by six months' imprisonment to four years' penitentiary. The BCU (for financial intermediaries and regular lenders) and the consumer protection area of the Ministry of Economy (for sellers financing consumers and others) order refunds of the excess and may impose warnings, published warnings, and fines from UI 10,000 up to the higher of UI 20,000,000 or three times the excess collected.
Cost to do it: Fines from UI 10,000 (UYU 66,792, about US$1,661) up to UI 20,000,000 (UYU 133,584,000, about US$3,322,159) or three times the excess, if higher.
Example: A lender that charged 21 percent on the UYU 4,021,000 loan above loses all interest; at the 19.8865 percent cap it could have earned up to UYU 799,636. / The same loss is about US$19,886 of interest on a US$100,000 loan, plus exposure to fines.Ley Nº 18.212, Art. 21, art. 22, art. 23, art. 24 and art. 25, 2007-12-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. The BCU publishes each month the average rates by term, currency and borrower type (families, micro and small companies and other companies, with consumer credit split by amount and by whether salary deduction is authorized) and the resulting caps. The table in force from 1 November 2026 uses the July to September 2026 quarter.
Cost to do it: Free public table.
Example: A peso fixed rate loan of up to 366 days to a small company below UI 2,000,000 has a cap of 33.7745 percent from 1 November 2026. / A dollar loan of 367 days or more to a large company at or above UI 2,000,000 has a cap of 9.842 percent from 1 November 2026.BCU Comunicación Nº 2026/212 under Ley Nº 18.212 art. 11 and 12 and art. 340 of the Recopilación de Normas de Regulación y Control del Sistema Financiero, Average rates and caps, in force from 1 November 2026, 2026-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Loan	BCU average	Cap below UI 2,000,000	Default cap below UI 2,000,000	Cap at or above UI 2,000,000	Default cap at or above UI 2,000,000
Pesos fixed, up to 366 days, large company	7.71%	11.9505%	13.878%	14.649%	16.962%
Pesos fixed, up to 366 days, medium company	12.83%	19.8865%	23.094%	24.377%	28.226%
Pesos fixed, up to 366 days, small company	21.79%	33.7745%	39.222%	41.401%	47.938%
Pesos fixed, 367 days or more, large company	8.00%	12.40%	14.40%	15.20%	17.60%
UI indexed, large company	4.76%	7.378%	8.568%	9.044%	10.472%
US dollars, up to 366 days, large company	4.86%	7.533%	8.748%	9.234%	10.692%
US dollars, up to 366 days, medium company	5.55%	8.6025%	9.99%	10.545%	12.21%
US dollars, 367 days or more, large company	5.18%	8.029%	9.324%	9.842%	11.396%

BCU averages and caps for company loans in force from 1 November 2026 (effective annual, quarter July to September 2026, BCU Comunicación Nº 2026/212)

Worked example

SME peso loan agreed in November 2026: a bank lends a medium sized company UYU 4,021,000 (US$100,000) for one year at a fixed rate. Principal is below UI 2,000,000 (UYU 13,358,400), so the cap is 12.83 percent plus 55 percent, 19.8865 percent effective annual, including all fees beyond the art. 14 exclusions. Interest at the cap would be UYU 799,636 (US$19,886). If the borrower defaults, the all in rate may not exceed 23.094 percent.
Corporate dollar loan: a bank lends US$1,000,000 (UYU 40,210,000) for one year to a large exporter at 8 percent plus a 1 percent arrangement fee. The implicit rate, about 9.09 percent, is inside the 9.234 percent cap for that segment from 1 November 2026, but adding a further 0.25 percent fee could push it over and void all interest under art. 21.
Intragroup loan: a foreign non financial parent lends US$500,000 (UYU 20,105,000) to its Uruguayan subsidiary. On the text of art. 2 E) a credit above UI 2,000,000 between non financial companies outside a consumer relation is outside the law, so the caps do not apply; transfer pricing and withholding rules still do.

Step by step

Classify the borrower (family, micro, small, medium or large company) and the loan (currency, term, fixed or indexed) to find the BCU segment.
Convert principal to UI at the UI value on the date the loan is agreed to pick the 55 or 90 percent band.
Compute the implicit rate with every fee and insurance, subtracting only the art. 14 or 15 exclusions.
Use the BCU table in force on the date the obligation is constituted; it changes every month.
Draft rates as effective annual with two decimals, separate principal and charges in the debt document, and diarize guarantor notices within 60 days of any default.

Common traps

Fees count: arrangement, structuring and insurance charges beyond the art. 14 allowances are part of the implicit rate, and a breach voids all interest, not only the excess (art. 21).
The default cap applies to the all in rate during default; a contractual default rate of base plus 5 points can breach it.
Default interest on the whole accelerated balance of an instalment loan is not allowed; only overdue instalments bear it (art. 3).
The art. 2 E) exclusion needs both parties to be non financial companies; a loan from a fund or other financial entity, or below UI 2,000,000, stays inside the caps.

Sources

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