Payday lending can provide short-term access to credit, but it often comes with high rates of interest and expensive fees.

A handful of national banks essentially rented out their charters to third party payday lenders. The OCC found a number of abuses in these relationships. Of primary concern was the inability of small banks to properly oversee the third parties who were making loans in their names. Among the abuses: deceptive marketing practices, failure to secure confidential customer files, and unsafe and unsound lending. The OCC took a series of enforcement actions that eliminated these relationships from the national banking system.