Two short-term lenders released statements to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday, commenting on the impact of new small-amount loan provisions in an amendment to consumer credit law that took effect in March. For one of these, Cash Converters, there has been a significant negative impact, while the other, Money3, reports strong sales growth.Cash Converters said that, compared with its nine-month average, outgoings (cash advances and personal loans) were down 2.4 per cent in March, down 26.3 per cent in April and down 12.6 per cent in May.In contrast, Money3 said sales of secured loans for the 11 months to May were up 165 per cent compared with the 11 months to May 2012, and sales of unsecured loans were up 31 per cent over the same period.Under provisions introduced in the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancement) Act 2012, providers of small-amount credit contracts must review clients' bank statements for the previous 90 days to verify their income.Loans with terms of less than 16 days are prohibited, unless it is an authorised deposit-taking institution offering a continuing credit contract.A loan will be presumed to be unsuitable if the applicant is in default under another small-amount credit contract or has been a debtor under two or more small-amount credit contracts within the previous 90 days.If a borrower receives 50 per cent or more of their gross income from Centrelink, no more than 20 per cent of their income can be allocated to loan repayments.Cash Converters said business had been affected as staff and customers got used to the changes. The requirement for a bank statement had caught out many applicants, who did not have internet banking access.The company's chief executive, Peter Cumins, said in a statement: "We believe the demand for short-term loans continues to grow and the impact we are experiencing... [with our] cash advance product will not impact [on] the overall demand for our financial products."Money3 said: "The regulatory implementation saw no negative impact on our volume of sales in any segment, as the requirement for bank statements and restricting customer payments to suit the customer's cash flow has always been common practice at Money 3."In the industry we are seeing a number of competitors struggling with the new requirements and this is presenting Money3 with opportunities to expand."Payday lenders face further tightening of the rules governing their activities in July, when caps on interest rates and fees take effect.