CLA
Certification
Criteria

  • Must comply with the regulatory environment that protects business and consumers from predatory practices, including consumer protection and consumer reporting laws, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation and privacy laws.
  • The member company and any related entities, must not participate in Canada’s payday loans industry, in any province or territory in Canada.
  • Must report their respective lending tradelines to Equifax and Transunion Canada. Must actively participate in Lenders API fraud and loan-stacking consortium.
  • Must uphold CLA Lenders Values.

CLA
Lenders
Values

Financial Innovation

One of the pillars of CLA membership is innovation. Our members are moving the needle in a myriad of ways that incumbent lenders, due to the stage of their business, are simply not built to do. Member innovation is improving the accuracy of underwriting so Canadians receive credit they are financially equipped to pay back; streamlining the process of applying for credit so it is no longer a painful and onerous task; and building unique credit products that more accurately meet the needs of their borrowers.

Financial Inclusion

The CLA believes that Canadians deserve improved access to credit. Currently, as many as 7 million Canadians do not have access to credit from incumbent lenders. With better data and more innovative approaches to underwriting, CLA members are focused on improving financial inclusion and making it possible for more Canadians to gain timely access to affordable credit. We encourage regulators to take steps to improve the availability and accessibility of data that can be used to more accurately evaluate credit risk; enabling more Canadians and Manitobans alike to qualify for credit products they can afford; avoiding the painful costs of last resort options such as payday loans.

Regulatory Certainty

The CLA encourages regulators to strive for clarity, stability and certainty when crafting consumer protection legislation and regulations. A clear and stable regulatory environment supports the long-term viability of our members and the Canadians that they serve and employ.

Regulatory Consistency

Where possible, the CLA supports the pursuit of regulatory consistency amongst the various Canadian Provinces that offer similar regulations so that our members who operate across multiple Provinces can do so as efficiently as possible. We believe that to the extent that regulators can pursue consistency across the provinces, the results will drive costs down for lenders, thus supporting long-term innovation, while ultimately leading to healthy growth, viability and competition in the industry. This ultimate array of innovation and competition in the industry is critical to providing necessary, and viable, credit options for consumers in Canada.

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