Cash America 2013 Annual Report Download - page 46

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required to comply. The Company endeavors to adhere to the guidelines or best practices of these associations, which
are summarized below.
The CFSA is a national association of lenders that encourages responsible industry practices and promotes
consumer loan legislation and regulation to provide consumer loan customers with substantive consumer protections
while preserving their access to short-term credit options. The CFSA requires its members to follow the CFSA’s
guidelines for responsible lending, to promote responsible lending practices in the consumer loan industry, and to ensure
that customers have complete information about their loan and are treated fairly and in compliance with the laws
applicable to their loan. Among other things, the guidelines developed by the CFSA include:
•Fully and clearly disclosing the terms of each loan, including prominent disclosure of the service fee amount as
both a dollar amount and as an annual percentage rate, as required by the Federal Truth in Lending Act and
applicable state laws;
•Providing customers who are unable to repay a loan according to its original terms an opportunity, at least once
in a 12-month period, to repay the loan in four equal installments over an extended period at no extra cost;
•Limiting loan rollovers (or extensions of outstanding consumer loans) to four, or less if required by applicable
state law;
•Complying with applicable laws, including limiting rates or fees charged to those permitted by applicable state
or federal law;
•Providing customers a one-day right to rescind any consumer loan transaction without incurring any additional
charges;
•Encouraging consumer responsibility by promoting responsible use of consumer loans;
•Collecting past due amounts in a professional, fair and lawful manner, and utilizing the FDCPA as guidance for
collection activities;
•Prohibiting the taking or threatening of criminal action against a customer as a result of the customer’s check
being returned unpaid or the customer’s account not being paid;
•Participating in self-policing the industry and reporting violations of CFSA’s Best Practices to the CFSA,
including agreeing to maintain and post a toll-free consumer hotline number; and
•Requiring that lenders providing payday advances through the internet must be licensed in each state where their
payday advance customers reside and must comply with the disclosure, rollover, rate, and other requirements
imposed by each such state, unless such state does not require the lender to be licensed or to comply with such
provisions.
The OLA is a professional organization representing the growing industry of companies offering online
consumer loans in the United States. All member companies have agreed to OLA Best Practices and a Code of Conduct
developed by OLA to ensure that consumer loan customers are fully informed, fairly treated and are using all lending
products responsibly. The OLA also has been tasked with clearing up misconceptions and myths surrounding the online
lending industry and educating the public, legislators and regulators about the demand for and importance of consumer
loan products on the internet. The OLA Best Practices are summarized as follows:
•Disclose all loan terms in a transparent and easy to understand way to help consumers make educated decisions;
•Provide consumers a chance to change their mind by maintaining a reasonable cancellation policy;
•Comply with all applicable laws and regulations and be in good standing with applicable governing officials and
regulatory bodies;
•Protect consumers’ personal data with comprehensive website security, a privacy policy and an ability to opt out
of information sharing;
•Help consumers help themselves by providing referrals to credit counseling, education and assistance where
appropriate;
•Use advertising and marketing practices that promote the responsible use of short-term credit services;
•Prohibit any unfair, false, misleading or deceptive acts or practices;
•Provide comprehensive website security and fraud prevention practices that include timely and accurate reports
on loan activity, consumer notification of account use, and validation of routing numbers;
•Treat consumers with respect and use fair, professional and non-abusive collection practices; and
•Prohibit the use of unlawful threats, intimidation, or harassment to collect accounts.