Are Internet payday loans legal in Hawaii?

Yes, payday lending is legal in Hawaii. Check out the payday lending laws in Hawaii from http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-p dls-laws.html .

Since your payday loan laws specifies it applies to check cashers only, it means that a payday lenders must be licensed to lend in your state, period. The licensee data base is below, if a lender is not listed, they are not legal:
http://hawaii.gov/d cca/dfi/regulate/regulate/
Click on 'money transmitters' and non-depository. List your Internet lenders please, we can help you determine if they are legal lenders or not, there is a course of action for non licensed lenders in your state: CLICK HERE to find out how to deal with illegal lenders.

I called the Hawaii department of banking and the rep said payday lending is unregulated.

http://hawaii.gov/d cca/dfi/regulate/regulate/ 'money transmitters' and non-depository has nothing to do with payday lenders. The rep said payday lending is unregulated.

I am surprised at all the wrong information given on this website.

The Hawaii department of banking rep who said that payday lending is unregulated apparently wasn't familiar with the rules that apply to check cashers who offer a "deferred deposit" service, as described in Hawaii Revised Statutes 480F-4.

This limits the amount of the deferred deposit, the fee, and other conditions under which a deferred deposit may be accepted. A check casher might be able to offer a loan (i.e.not a "deferred deposit"), but then there would be other limitations that apply, such as Chapter 478.

You probably spoke to somebody at DFI (Division of Financial Institutions), and it is true that they don't administer the regulations on check cashers, hence they have nothing to do with payday loans, but that doesn't mean that payday loans are not subject to rules and regulations.