The Honest Lawyer Online

1.
the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest.

2.
an exorbitant amount or rate of interest, esp. in excess of the legal rate.

There is a very interesting article here at Fox News this morning regarding the change in charges First Premier Bank, a sub-prime credit card issuer.

Of course, strictly by definition, this isn’t usury [...]

Most people do not  realize that credit card companies have set them up to fail.  Many  creditors want you to go over limit  or be late on a payment so that they can charge you over limit fees and late fees and increase your interest rate. That is how they make the most money.   [...]