Since 2005, OLA has worked on behalf of the online lending industry, representing top online businesses. The Online Lenders Alliance is an organization representing the growing industry of U.S. based companies offering online consumer short-term loans, also known as "payday loans.”
With the rapid increase in the number of websites offering short-term loans, industry leaders became concerned that many of these lenders were not acting in good faith. To protect the industry against potential damage caused by inept lenders, the leaders formed OLA in 2005. The first step was to eliminate the "bad apples” and standardize the principles by which loans should be made.
All member companies have agreed to a List of Best Practices and Code of Conduct developed by OLA to ensure that consumers are fully informed and fairly treated and are using all lending products and practices responsibly.
Despite the thousands of positive stories relayed to short-term lenders by subprime customers, there remain a large number of misconceptions and myths surrounding the online lending industry. One of our tasks as a professional organization is to dispel these myths, clear up the misconceptions, and educate the public, legislators and regulators about the demand and need for consumer short-term loans on the Internet.
OLA has the authority to speak on behalf of the online lending industry to the public, opinion leaders and government officials. Staffed by experts in trade association management, OLA is qualified to take collective action in compliance with antitrust, tax and lobbying laws. The issues affecting the industry are extremely complex; therefore, OLA consults with several experts to stay abreast of events impacting the industry.