Send FREE to YOUR Customers!

Exploring Alternative Financing Options for Employees in the Gig Economy

Gig workers face unique financial challenges that traditional banking institutions often fail to address. With irregular income patterns and lack of conventional employment documentation, many find themselves excluded from standard financial products.

Banks typically require steady paychecks and extensive credit history, creating significant barriers for those working in ride-sharing, delivery services, freelance platforms, or other gig economy roles. 

This gap has created a pressing need for innovative financing solutions tailored to the modern workforce’s actual working patterns and income structures.

Income-Based Lending Solutions

Income-based lending has emerged as a practical alternative to traditional credit-based loans. These solutions analyze real-time earnings data from gig platforms to determine loan eligibility and terms. Instead of focusing solely on credit scores, lenders evaluate consistent earning patterns and work history, opening doors for workers who maintain steady gig income but may have imperfect credit. 

Read more at FINSMES.COM

Data shows more loans are being rejected — but why?

It’s been getting a little harder to get approved for a loan this year, according to a new survey out this week from the New York Federal Reserve. It found that rejection rates for loan applications are higher than they were in 2023 for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and refinances.

Over the last few months, Todd Sharkey, chief credit officer at Sunrise Banks in Minnesota, said the bank has been getting more loan applications from borrowers who are feeling a little stretched.

“We’re seeing maybe some more stressed debt-to-income ratios, we’re seeing some credit scores that are falling a little bit, and so that has led to some natural rejections, comparatively,” said Sharkey.

He said the bank hasn’t tightened its lending standards or anything. Instead, it’s simply encountering an issue in the broader economy: People’s debt levels have been rising.

Read more at MARKETPLACE.ORG

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

https://youtu.be/y6HkaBkdKdU

• Direct File is expanding to a dozen new states and will cover a wider range of tax situations for the 2025 tax filing season. Read more here about the expansion of this free e-filing service: https://ow.ly/MOJB50TGNn1

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

Why You Should Make Financial Education A Priority

Financial literacy leads to better financial health throughout your life

Financial literacy is crucial to improving financial well-being – unfortunately, many adults in the U.S. lack financial education. According to the TIAA Institute-Global Financial Literary Excellence Center (GFLEC) Personal Finance Index, or P-Fin Index, an annual report that assesses financial literacy among U.S. adults, Americans rated “poorly” in 2024, able to answer just 48% of questions on the index correctly. Improved financial literacy often leads to smarter fiscal decisions over your lifetime – so what can you do to get financially educated?  

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union strongly believes in the benefits of a solid financial foundation and has committed to improving financial health within our community, offering a wealth of free financial education resources. Need tips on improving your credit score, saving more, or buying a home? Register for one of Hawaii State FCU’s free monthly webinars. Prefer to learn things on your own time? The credit union also works with GreenPath Financial Wellness to provide online courses to improve your financial knowledge when it’s most convenient for you. Want budget-saving tips and recipes? Check out Hawaii State FCU’s blog and “Bites On A Budget” series for delicious and wallet-friendly ideas. 

Read more at HAWAIIBUSINESS.COM

The Rise of Online Equipment Rental Marketplaces

10 essential features and functionalities of online equipment rental marketplaces.

The global equipment rental market is projected to reach $131.2 billion by the end of 2024 and add another $70 billion in the next 10 years. The primary growth factors adding resilience to the market are the never-ending demand for commercial, residential, and short-term as well as long-term infrastructure development projects. Alongside these projects, we have forestry, mining, and oil rigging projects boosting the revenue of the equipment rental industry. However, due to the massive surge in demand with supply shortages, contractors and builders are looking for better sources to procure equipment.

To fulfill these requirements and capitalize on the online markets, many players, including both incumbents and new entrants, have taken the digital route to market. An efficient way to compete with the other online players and help the equipment rental businesses is by launching a dedicated rental marketplace. An equipment rental marketplace is an asset-light business where the business owner is not required to own any inventory. Instead, multiple manufacturers, suppliers, and rental companies sign up on the marketplace and list their equipment for renting purposes. This analysis covers the key areas marketplace owners focus on and other important market dynamics. 

Read more at FORCONSTRUCTIONPROS.COM

Appeals court denies en banc hearing in CFSA’s challenge to CFPB’s payday rule: by Ballard Spahr LLP

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request by the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) to hold a rehearing en banc on the group’s challenge of the CFPB’s payday loan rule.

The court simply said that no member of the panel had requested that the appeals court be polled, so the petition was denied.

The CFSA, the association representing payday lenders, and others originally filed the high-profile suit, arguing that the agency’s payday loan rule was unconstitutional because the CFPB was not funded through the annual appropriations process (the “funding argument”). 

The CFSA and other plaintiffs also argued that (1) the payday lending rule’s promulgation violated the Administrative Procedure Act; 

Read more at JDSUPRA.COM

Watch Your Business Skyrocket.

More Visibility. More Customers. More Loans

Untangling Consumer and Medical Debt in the Courts: PEW

Stat: 41%: The share of U.S. adults who have some form of health care debt. 

Story: Millions of Americans are struggling with debt, from credit card bills to unexpected medical expenses. And many face a tough choice between paying off debt or covering basic needs such as rent, food, and health care. But what happens when these debts go unpaid?

In this episode, Lester Bird of The Pew Charitable Trusts explains how it’s possible for consumers with debt to end up in civil court, facing a lawsuit, or experience serious consequences such as wage garnishment. He discusses how these cases make up a large portion of court dockets. Noam Levey of KFF Health News shares how medical debt cases can worsen the economic conditions of individuals and communities.

And Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses how policymakers in his state are helping to ease the burden of medical debt on his constituents through landmark reforms.

Read more at The Pew Charitable Trusts

Four Fresh Trends That Will Flip Bank Marketing in 2025

Economic and demographic crosscurrents will force marketers to try fresh approaches to longstanding challenges in the coming year. The Fed's return to rate cutting is just one factor; another is the growing emphasis on family banking services. And everyone wants more flexible options for handling their finances.

New research from Comperemedia, a Mintel company, argues that some longstanding key assumptions among marketers will have to be reassessed in the face of new facts and changing attitudes. As a result, marketing for consumer banking products will demand fresh ideas — in some cases, the opposite of conventional thinking.

Four trends identified by the firm are:

Marketing to the next banking cohort will hinge on marketing to an older generation.

Legacy brands and challenger brands will swap their preferred market channels.

The Federal Reserve’s return to rate cutting will change consumers’ mindset on debt.

Consumers’ increasing preference for financial flexibility will impact the design of banking products.

Read more at The Financial Brand

Gen Z is 30% More Likely to Open a New Savings Account — What’s Driving Their Choices?

Recent data from Plinqit show Gen Z is emerging as a savings-savvy financial powerhouse in ways set to transform the banking landscape. Traditional financial institutions are being challenged to adapt their offerings to meet this generation's expectations or risk losing them to fintech startups and challenger banks. What factors are influencing Gen Z’s decision-making processes and preferences when it comes to choosing how — and where — to save?

Gen Z is emerging as a financial powerhouse, with data showing that they are 30% more likely to open a new savings account than other generations, according to YouGov’s U.S. Financial Trend Report.

This aligns closely with Plinqit’s recent State of Savings survey report, which found that Gen Z (ages 18-27) is the generation most likely to save more than 20% of their monthly household income each month at 47%, compared to 36% of Millennials (ages 28-43), 17% of Gen X (ages 44-59) and 18% of Boomers (ages 60-78). The survey, commissioned by Plinqit, was conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 2,000 U.S. adults.

Read more at The Financial Brand