March 26, 2013 (Washington, D.C.) — The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) today issued the following statement regarding the United States Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Subcommittee hearing titled “Are Alternative Financial Products Serving Consumers?”:
“Consumers need more choices to meet their diverse credit challenges. Congress must create a market environment where innovation is encouraged to meet the growing consumer demand for short-term, small dollar credit products.
Innovative companies will create an array of credit products with flexible terms, payment options, and loan amounts if they have a federal regulatory framework that encourages innovation rather than the current patchwork of state laws that stifles it. Currently, many states only allow the traditional two-week loan product making it impossible to offer consumers more flexible options.
It’s time for a new conversation about consumer credit. For too long the focus of this discussion has centered on why current products aren’t working for consumers. Let’s stop talking about what we don’t like. What elected representatives, regulators, consumer groups and industry leaders should be discussing is how to work together to foster innovation in the short-term credit market that leads to better products for the nation’s consumers.”
The Online Lenders Alliance is a professional trade organization representing the growing industry of companies offering consumers small, short-term loans online. OLA member companies abide by a list of Best Practices and Code of Conduct to ensure that customers are fully informed and fairly treated.
