Usury is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning, taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in excess of the maximum rate that is allowed by law.

What does usury mean in the Bible?

In many historical societies including ancient Christian, Jewish, and Islamic societies, usury meant the charging of interest of any kind was considered wrong, or was made illegal.

What's an example of usury?

Usury is just charging interest on a loan — except the rate exceeds reasonable or legal limits. For example, if you borrow $100,000 for 10 years at an interest rate of 6%, compounded monthly, you could expect to pay $1,110.21 per month or a total of $133,224.60 throughout the life of the loan.