How do I Find the Monthly Interest Rate on a 48 Month Loan?

There are generally two main loan types: closed-end loans and revolving loans. The most common closed-end loan varieties are mortgages and car loans. The most common revolving loan varieties are credit cards. A 48-month loan is a closed-end account. Some lenders hesitate to publish the monthly interest rates on their loan statements. Some claim privacy, but others simply make it a bit harder for consumers to know how much they are truly paying. Fortunately, finding the interest rate on any loan is simple.

Instructions

1

Collect all documents relating to the 48-month loan. This not only means your monthly billing statement (which presumably does not list the rate), but also a bank statement (if you have direct debits) and the original loan paperwork you signed at closing.

2

Comb through these documents, especially the original loan contract you signed. This contract must disclose the monthly rate and the type (variable or fixed). You may have lost this document, but if you have it, you will find your rate.

3

Log on to your online account, if applicable and/or available. To set up online access, you will need your Social Security number, address, name, date of birth, account number, telephone number and a unique password and user ID.

4

Choose the account from the list of accounts (if you have more than one) on the creditor's Web page. The rate may be listed next to your next payment due date, total balance and last payment amount.

5

Find the customer service number on one of your account statements if all else fails. You can speak with a customer service representative or an account servicing representative. Once your identity and account information is verified, the representative will tell you your rate.

Conversion from Annual to Monthly

6

Find the annual percentage rate on your 48-month loan. Use the steps above to acquire this rate.

7

Divide the annual percentage rate (APR) by 100. For example, if your APR is 10 percent, divide 10 by 100. The result is 0.1.

8

Divide this result by 12, the number of months in a year. Using the example above, this would look like this: 0.1/12. The result is 0.0083.

9

Multiply this result by 100 to convert it back to a percentage. Using the same example, 0.0083 x 100 = 0.83 percent. Your monthly interest rate for 48 months will be 0.83 percent.