Advance America’s CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy on healthy competition within the short-term credit market, whether from banks or non-bank providers:

“I believe consumers benefit from having multiple options.

We’ve recently seen activity from both depository and alternative financial service providers as they focus on developing strategies to better serve their customer short-term credit needs.

…

Loan services reports since August 2010, when new rules took effect that prohibit banks from automatically enrolling customers in overdraft plans for debit cards or ATM transactions. The overall opt-in rates for such plan has grown to exceed 77%. This high opt-in rate clearly demonstrates large consumer demand for short-term credit and that consumers regard overdraft as a safety net and not as a penalty.”

To read more from AEA’s earnings call transcript, click here.