ABOUT OLA

The Online Lenders Alliance is a professional trade organization representing the growing industry of U.S. based companies offering online consumer micro loans, also known as payday loans.

History

During the last few years, online lending industry leaders took note of the rapid increase in the number of websites offering micro loans and became increasingly concerned that some of these lenders were not acting in good faith. They realized that the entire industry might suffer as a result of a few bad actors. In an effort to eliminate these bad actors and standardize the principles by which loans should be made, these leaders joined together and formed the Online Lenders Alliance.

Misconceptions about the Online Lending Industry

Unfortunately, despite the thousands of positive stories relayed to our companies by their 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 micro loans on the Internet.

Activities

OLA speaks with authority for the online lending industry to the public, opinion leaders and government officials. OLA is qualified to take collective action on behalf of the online lending industry in compliance with antitrust, tax and lobbying laws. OLA continually consults with industry experts to stay abreast of events and issues impacting the industry. OLA is staffed by professional experts in trade association management and the complex disciplines of education and advocacy required by the industry.

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.