Consumer groups are asking Albania’s government to adopt the toughest regulatory model on the table for the booming $16 billion Buy Now Pay Later sector, warning that vulnerable Australians are giving up essentials to cope with mounting digital debts.

Deputy Treasurer Stephen Jones, who has been pushing for a closer look at the sector, launched a consultation on Monday on the new government’s proposed reforms that will encompass Afterpay and Zip to protect around 7 million active users.

Three options were considered, ranging from continuing Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) self-regulation with a new “affordability test”, to fully subjecting businesses to the stricter rules for credit grantors. traditional.

A proposed middle ground would partially incorporate the BNPL into credit law, including the licensing of providers, and a rolling “mismatch test” requiring providers to assess that “a BNPL credit does not is not unsuitable for a person.

According to a options paper published by the Treasury, BNPL’s transactions reached $16 billion last year, an increase of about 37% over the previous year.

Although the industry has boomed, it has avoided the increased monitoring, compliance and reporting requirements of traditional credit products. BNPL has grown rapidly from 2015 with little regulation and has operated under a self-regulating industry code since 2021.

Nine providers have signed the code, including Afterpay, Klarna, Latitude and Zip, but there are notable providers that have not, including PayPal, Commonwealth Bank and some smaller BNPL providers.

The Industry Code is not law and is not enforceable, with the BNPL sector denying the option of giving the business regulator an enforcement role. No penalty is paid for non-compliance with the code.

Yet forthcoming ASIC data referenced by the Treasury shows that 19% of BNPL consumers surveyed have reduced or gone without essentials to make BNPL repayments on time.

23% of BNPL users experienced a financial stress indicator; and 19% experienced two or more stress indicators – levels similar to auto finance and personal loans. Nearly a third say they don’t fully understand all the fees and charges in their BNPL arrangements.

“Many people using BNPL have low and sometimes precarious incomes,” said Fiona Guthrie, managing director of Financial Counseling Australia.

“While the amounts people borrow may seem small, the impact when the debt cannot be paid is not. People have to give up other essentials to pay their BNPL debts.

“BNPL is credit, pure and simple, so it needs to be regulated in the same way as other credit products to provide people with adequate collateral.”

Deputy Treasurer Stephen Jones said the government was genuinely keen to consult on reforms but signaled at least some changes.

“Things like credit checks, things like making sure these products are marketed appropriately to the right group of people – I think that’s a minimum standard that we can expect,” he said. he told Sky News on Monday.

“But we don’t serve a cooked meal. We want to have real consultation.

Mr Jones would not set a deadline for a government decision on the three approaches, but expects a decision to be made within a year.

According to a coalition of consumer groups, only the most difficult option – treating BNPL like traditional credit – will adequately address the damage.

“The financial distress is so clear in the appeals to Consumer Action’s financial advisors,” said the organization’s chief executive, Gerard Brody.

“Often we hear of people having multiple accounts, with refunds coming out of their accounts at different times, which means they lose financial control. BNPL and payday advance services don’t help people budget, they complicate things.

Earlier this year, Financial Counseling Australia published an open letter signed by 120 organizations urging Parliament to make BNPL products safer after reports of increasing cases of financial hardship involving BNPL.

The debate over whether BNPL is a credit is over, according to Consumer Credit Legal Center WA, lead counsel Roberta Grealish.

“It’s about credit and should be regulated as other credit products are – without distinction,” she said.

“The new legislation must fill the gaps. We all know that unscrupulous vendors thrive in gray areas, so we can’t have an exclusion. Payday lenders must do responsible loan verifications and they also lend small amounts. It is difficult to argue that BNPL suppliers should not be held to the same level.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley by email.

This press release was originally issued by SBWire

NJ New Jersey, United States — (SBWIRE) – 11/17/2022 – The latest published Payday Loans Market Research has assessed the future growth potential of the Payday Loans market and provides useful insights and statistics on the structure and size of the market. The report aims to provide market insights and strategic insights to help decision makers make sound investment decisions and identify potential gaps and growth opportunities. Furthermore, the report also identifies and analyzes changing dynamics, emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges, opportunities and restraints in the Payday Loans market. The study includes analysis of market shares and profiles of players such as CashNetUSA (USA), Speedy Cash (USA), Approved Cash Advance (USA), Check n’ Go (USA ), Ace Cash Express (US), Money Mart (US), LoanPig (UK), Street UK (UK), Peachy (UK), Satsuma Loans (UK), OppLoans (United States).

Download sample PDF report (including full TOC, table and figures) @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/124850-global-payday-loans-market#utm_source=SBWireKavita

Definition: Payday loans are small, short-term, unsecured loans that borrowers promise to repay on their next paycheck or regular income. Loans are typically $500 or less than $1,000 and mature within two to four weeks of receiving the loan and are usually priced at a flat rate, which means finance charges for the borrower. These unsecured loans have a short repayment period and are called payday loans because the term of a loan generally matches the payday period of the borrower. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in 2017 there were 14,348 payday loan storefronts in the United States. About. 80% of payday loan seekers borrow again to pay off a previous payday loan. Payday loan regulations are the strictest in the Netherlands.

Market opportunities:
Growing adoption of payday lending in developing countries

Market trends:
~43% use 6 or more installment loans per year and 16% use more than 12 small loan products per year
Payday loans are an attractive alternative to popular credit cards

Market factors:
A growing number of payday loan users in North America and payday loans are only legal in 36 US states
Growing use of Quick Cash for emergencies

The global payday loans market segments and market data breakdown are illustrated below:
by type (one hour, instant online, cash advance), request (mortgage or rent, food and groceries, regular expenses (utilities, car payment, credit card bill or prescription drugs), unexpected expenses (expenses emergency medical services), others), Reimbursement period (up to 14 days, 1-2 months, 3-4 months, more than 4 months), end user (men, women)

The Global Payday Loans Market report highlights insights regarding current and future industry trends, growth patterns, as well as offers business strategies to help stakeholders make sound decisions that can help ensure the trajectory of earnings over the forecast years.

You have a question ? Market a request before purchase @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/124850-global-payday-loans-market#utm_source=SBWireKavita

Netherlands: Payday lenders must now acquire the appropriate license to operate and must comply with the maximum interest rate of the bank prime rate plus 12%. In 2013 and 2014, the Dutch government enforced this legislation in two landmark court cases in which it fined two companies found to be operating outside these regulations – this included a $2.2 million fine ( 2 million euros) to betaaldag.nl for failing to comply with tariff restrictions. and Canada: British Columbia has the strictest set of regulations: lenders cannot legally charge more than $15 per $100 for a two-week payday loan, and penalties for returned checks or debits pre-authorized are capped at $20.

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of the following regions:
The Middle East and Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, etc.)
North America (United States, Mexico and Canada)
South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, etc.)
Europe (Turkey, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.)
Asia-Pacific (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia).

Report objectives
-To carefully analyze and forecast the Payday Loans market size by value and volume.
-Estimating the market shares of the main payday loan segments
– To present the Payday Loans market development in different parts of the world.
To analyze and study the micro markets in terms of their contributions to the Payday Loans market, their prospects, and individual growth trends.
-Offer accurate and useful details on factors affecting Payday Loans growth
-To provide a meticulous assessment of crucial business strategies employed by leading companies operating in the Payday Loans market, which include research and development, collaborations, agreements, partnerships, acquisitions, mergers, new developments and product launches.

Buy a Full Payday Loan Market Review Now @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/buy-now?format=1&report=124850#utm_source=SBWireKavita

Main highlights of the table of contents:

Payday Loans Market Research Coverage:
It includes major manufacturers, emerging player’s growth story and major business segments of Payday Loans market, years considered and research objectives. Further, segmentation based on product type, application, and technology.
Executive Summary of Payday Loans Market: It gives a summary of overall studies, growth rate, available market, competitive landscape, market drivers, trends, and issues, along with macroscopic pointers.
Payday Loans Market Production by Region Payday Loans Market profile of manufacturers-players is studied based on SWOT, their products, production, value, financials and other vital factors .
Key points covered in the Payday Loans market report:
Overview, Definition and Classification of Payday Loans Market Drivers and Obstacles
Payday Loans Market Competition by Manufacturers
Analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the payday loan market
Payday Loans Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2021-2027)
Payday Loan Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2021-2027)
Payday Loan Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type {One Hour, Instant Online, Cash Advance}
Payday Loans Market Analysis by Application {Mortgage or Rent, Food and Groceries, Regular Expenses [Utilities, Car Payment, Credit Card Bill, or Prescription Drugs]Unforeseen expense [Emergency Medical Expense]Others}
Payday Loans Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis Payday Loans Manufacturing Cost Analysis, Industry/Supply Chain Analysis, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Marketing
Strategy by major manufacturers/players, standardization of connected distributors/traders, regulatory and collaborative initiatives, industry roadmap and analysis of value chain market effect factors.

Browse Full Abstract & Table of Contents @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/124850-global-payday-loans-market#utm_source=SBWireKavita

Answers to key questions
How feasible is the payday loan market for a long-term investment?
What are the factors influencing the demand for payday loans in the near future?
What is the impact analysis of various factors on the growth of the Global Payday Loans Market?
What are the recent regional market trends and how successful are they?

Thank you for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Middle East, Africa, Europe or LATAM, Southeast Asia.

For more information on this press release, visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/payday-loans-market-booming-segments-investors-seeking-stunning-growth-speedy-cash-opploans-ace-cash-express-money-mart-1366587. html

Will former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be held accountable for his mismanagement of investor funds?

After most entities tied to its cryptocurrency exchange became insolvent last week, blockchain analysts concluded that the insolvencies resulted in part from the fact that the exchange’s trading house, Alameda Research, had spent nearly $10 billion in cash that technically belonged to FTX customers. To date, the company has declined to elaborate on the contractual details that made the arrangement possible – or legal.

The day after The collapse of FTX, skeptics wondered if the elite – in Washington or elsewhere – would be motivated to investigate the situation with any rigor. Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk suggested in a Nov. 13 tweet that he was among those critics, sharing an image that links Bankman-Fried — also known as “SBF” — to the president. of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler. Bankman-Fried is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the image notes, where Gensler served as a professor. And he’s been romantically linked to Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, a Stanford graduate whose father, Glenn Ellison, also teaches at MIT.

pic.twitter.com/XpH56PxLgm

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2022

There are also more serious reasons to wonder who might be interested in holding SBF accountable – like a November 14 glowing interview with SBF published by New York Times writer David Yaffe-Bellany. Noting that SBF had been “compared to financial titans like John Pierpont Morgan and Warren Buffett,” Yaffe-Bellany says that SBF “did, however, agree with critics in the crypto community who said it had broadened its business interests too quickly across a wide swath of industry.

OK, but what about the allegation that Alameda used more than half of FTX’s $16 billion in customer deposits to complete failed trades? “He said the size of the position was several billion dollars but declined to provide further details,” The Times noted before continuing.

Related: The Market Isn’t Up Anytime Soon – So Get Used To The Dark Times

What about new blockchain evidence that indicates Alameda used advanced knowledge of the assets FTX would list in order to inform its purchases? Such “front-running” is a form of insider trading – one that a lawyer might consider illegal. The Times didn’t even address the issue.

Shameful report from the @NYTimes on FTX. It portrays SBF as a charitable entrepreneur who went bankrupt and does not mention the words fraud, criminal, drug addiction, friends and family Bahamas KYC racketeering, hacking, stolen funds or wiped out servers anywhere.https://t.co/rBJ7O0L4sV

— Alex Kruger (@krugermacro) November 14, 2022

The enthusiasm for the media is not the only advantage enjoyed by SBF. As some observers — not the New York Times, but others — have noted, he also wields some political clout resulting from hours spent patronizing Capitol Hill, in addition to the tens of millions he has spent on contributions. His donation of $5.2 million to President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign made him its second largest CEO donor. He gave another $39.8 million political action committees and primarily Democratic-affiliated candidates in 2022.

Related: Let’s move on from the FTX meltdown and back to basics

Of that, $27 million went to a group called Protect our Future. The group reported spend about $24 million directly on candidate races — including $250,000 in Support newly elected New Jersey Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., whose father serves on the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. (As some may recall, a federal jury dropped corruption charges against Menendez Sr. in 2017 after failing to reach a verdict. A spokesperson for Menendez said in October that he faced a new federal investigation into similar allegations.)

It is perhaps understandable that some observers wonder whether SBF has faced the appropriate level of regulatory scrutiny – or whether it will in the future. “I want to know how many whistleblower complaints have been filed with the SEC advising them of the FTX fraud,” Blockchain Association Chief Policy Officer Jake Chervinsky wrote in a Nov. 15 tweet. , before referring to a March 23 meeting between Gensler and SBF. “I want to know how many were deposited before FTX met with Chairman Gensler’s office to talk about a romance deal. I want to know why our ‘beat cop’ was blind to this.

I want to know how many whistleblower complaints have been filed with the SEC informing them of the FTX fraud.

I want to know how many were deposited before FTX met with President Gensler’s office to talk about a sweetheart deal.

I want to know why our “beat cop” was blind to this.

—Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) November 15, 2022

Helius Labs co-founder Mert Mumtaz made a similar comment in a tweet a day earlier. For context, it came in response to an exchange between Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Barron reporter Tae Kim, who alluded to SBF rank in a game called League of Legends. “Apparently SBF is worse at playing video games than @AOC,” Kim tweeted, to which Ocasio-Cortez replied, “VCs [venture capital firms] were impressed with Bronze III? ?)

Mumtaz expressed his opinion by referring to Alexey Pertsev, the developer imprisoned this year for writing the code that enabled the Tornado Cash crypto-anonymization service. “American politicians when someone writes an open-source crypto protocol: straight to jail,” Mumtaz wrote. “American politicians when someone literally scams people out of billions while running a drugged polycule: ‘haha, he’s bad at the league.'”

US politicians when someone writes an open-source crypto protocol: straight to jail

American Politicians When Someone Scams Literally Billions By Running A Drugged Polycule: “Haha, He’s Bad At The League” pic.twitter.com/h0PX0JLbSj

— Sea | Helius (, ) (@0xMert_) November 15, 2022

Of course, there are things regulators and elected officials could do to prove the skeptics wrong. For example, lawmakers with whom SBF has a connection — like the Menendez clan — could recuse themselves from participating in the inevitable congressional hearings related to the FTX crash.

Second, Gensler and other regulators could aggressively – and publicly – investigate the links between FTX US and FTX’s international operations. They might refrain from dishonestly seizing the moment to target completely unrelated projects in decentralized finance (DeFi) – which are just pieces of code created and sometimes maintained by developers, such as Tornado Cash. The inherent dishonesty of using failed platforms as an excuse to target competitors has previously led to claims that SBF was a “federal” that intentionally tarnished cryptocurrency. While these claims have been mostly lighthearted so far, it seems almost certain that they will snowball into real conspiracy theories.

At this point, SBF is pretending to be delusional or he’s onto something…

The high FDV low-float shitcoins you created are not assets you fed a planted sociopath clown.

You will be remembered as the biggest fraud in financial history for generations. https://t.co/swFUUjXSVl

— Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) November 15, 2022

I’m no conspirator, but the fact that SBF is still at large and posting shit on Twitter,

after committing a massive financial crime,

and we see the softball media coverage of the event, and Kevin O’Leary saying he might work with him again

WTF HAPPENS???

— DCinvestor.eth ⌐◨-◨ (@iamDCinvestor) November 15, 2022

Finally, lawmakers tackling cryptocurrency and finance issues could focus on crafting rules that prevent industry leaders from using and abusing their customers. That would represent a welcome pivot from the approach taken by congressional Democrats, who have focused much more on crafting rules targeting the most broke Americans. Take, for example, the Biden administration’s failed proposal to require banks to report data on bank accounts with more than $600 in annual transactions.

We will soon find out if the American ruling class decides to adopt any of these measures by ejecting SBF from the industry and cracking down on copycats. But if the past is a prologue, do not hope.

The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. This article is for general informational purposes and is not intended to be and should not be considered legal or investment advice.

When the pandemic-related lockdown forced banks to close or reduce branch services, it fueled a substantial shift in banking by pushing the industry to rely more on digital channels, so customers could access accounts. and borrow money.

Technological innovations and increased digitalization have had significant implications for the banking sector, including the creation of new loan programs, changes in consumer preferences, and changes in depositor behavior.

There was another significant shift over the same period – this one in an entirely different direction. Unbanked Arkansans — those without bank accounts — followed a national trend and opened new accounts in record numbers.

Arkansas’ unbanked households have essentially halved over the past five years, falling to a new low of 3.4% in 2021, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. This was below the national average of 4.5%.

“I’ve been watching the number of unbanked and underbanked people for years…and last year was the biggest drop I’ve ever seen,” said Darrin Williams, chief executive of Southern Bancorp Inc., based in Arkansas, which focuses on providing banking services to disadvantaged and underserved communities in the Mississippi Delta region.

There have been steady improvements in Arkansas and the United States since 2017.

Central Arkansas and the Little Rock metro area had 2.8% unbanked households last year, down from 7.2% in 2017 and 5.1% in 2019. FDIC releases data every two years.

Northwest Arkansas and the Fayetteville metro area were first reported last year with 3.5% unbanked households.

“During the pandemic, consumers opened bank accounts to quickly and securely access relief funds and other benefits,” Acting FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said in a statement. . “Safe and affordable bank accounts provide a way to draw more Americans into the banking system and will continue to play an important role in promoting economic inclusion for all Americans.”

Indeed, federal stimulus payments have led many consumers to open bank accounts to get checks out of the way faster, according to Williams, who said bank customers are getting their money much faster than those waiting for checks. paper.

Although not all are attributable to pandemic stimulus checks, Southern opened 7,000 new accounts in 2021.

Progress, however, has been slower, reaching the underbanked or households that have a functioning bank account but are not fully and effectively using the services available to them.

Just over 14%, or 18 million US households, underused their bank accounts last year. Arkansas recorded even lower numbers, with 15.1% of households in the state recorded by the FDIC as underbanked.

“For the people we’re focused on, you can’t really plant a victory flag,” said Charity Hallman, senior vice president of community and economic development in Arkansas for Hope Credit Union. “It’s great that the state is improving, it’s good to see Arkansas moving forward, but there’s work to be done.”

Hope, based in Jackson, Mississippi, focuses on providing banking and lending services to women and people of color. These demographics are always left behind, according to Hallman.

Minority communities and low-income people, those earning less than $30,000 a year, experience greater banking problems than their white counterparts, according to FDIC data.

Unbanked and underbanked rates remain higher among minorities. Last year, 2.1% of white households were unbanked, compared to 11.3% of black households and 9.3% of Hispanic households.

“While this gap is considerable, it is significantly smaller than just two years ago, when the 2019 unbanked rate among white households was 2.5% compared to 13.8% and 12.2% among black and Hispanic households,” the FDIC report said.

In 2021, 9.3% of white households were underbanked compared to 24.7% of black households and 24.1% of Hispanic households.

Minorities and residents of rural communities “still use predatory alternative tools” like money orders to pay bills or rely on payday lenders to cash a check, Williams said.

“Getting people to use the resource properly is another step and there was a disconnect,” he added. “There are still people who pay higher interest and fees because they don’t use their account properly, which is really an education issue.”

At Hope, Hallman notes that more education is needed, but the problem goes deeper still as lenders continue to offer higher, more crippling loan rates and products in poorer areas. More so, she says, many banks require a minimum deposit to open an account, a practice that limits minority participation.

“It makes it harder for them to build a credit history, it makes them more vulnerable to scams, and they’re not set up for long-term success,” she said. “The best way for black businesses to grow is to give them access to credit.”

Hope and Southern Bancorp have used investments from the US Treasury Department to expand their local branch networks and create more access points in minority and disadvantaged communities.

Hope, for example, plans to leverage $92.6 million in Treasury funding to raise $1 billion to invest in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee to support more 150,000 home buyers, businesses and families. The long-term strategy would put more branches in communities that traditional lenders don’t reach.

“We are opening branches in places where the black community is in the majority and we are adapting our products to meet their needs,” Hallman said. “We build thoughtful projects that meet the economic needs of this community.”

In Southern, the bank is preparing to open a branch in the Little Rock Police Department’s 12th Street substation, which provides space for retail operations and community services. It will be the only bank branch several miles away serving downtown neighborhoods and businesses. Southern received about $250 million in Treasury funds to better serve this type of community in the bank’s service area, Williams said.

“The number of accounts we are opening every year is growing and that’s because of our expansion into areas that have not traditionally been served by banks and our mission is really to target the unbanked and underbanked” , added Williams.

Wiltshire and Swindon Credit Union won the Best Credit Union (South) category in the Smart Money People’s 2022 Consumer Credit Awards.

The judgment was based on reviews left on the site by people who use services registered with Smart Money People. In over 170 reviews, WASCU has an average of 4.94 out of 5 stars.

Trustee chairman Nick Gallop said it was a testament to the quality of service provided by his staff.

He added: “The staff in the office looking after the members did a fantastic job and it’s a reward for that.

“I’m thrilled for everyone involved in the organization and it’s very satisfying to be recognized like this. I see it as motivation to do more.”

The group, formed in 2016 from four separate Wiltshire credit unions, is based in Cavendish Square but has collection points across the county.

It lends over £1million a year to 3,500 active members and sees a steady increase in demand, partly due to the cost of living crisis.

Its loans are designed to help families who can’t get credit elsewhere, to keep them from going to payday loan companies with crippling interest rates or even illegal loan sharks.

Members open savings accounts and, if they meet loan criteria, can take out loans that are repaid monthly.

Mr Gallop added: “The special thing we have done is provide quality of service and a way of treating people with dignity.

“Some of those who come to us were just managing to survive and then their fridge stopped working or they had to buy new shoes for three kids going back to school.

“We deal with them in a really helpful and constructive way and because of that they left such great reviews of our service and it’s wonderful that’s why we won this award.”

One member said: “Helped me through Christmas, appliance replacements and family vacations. Couldn’t have done it without being able to borrow from them.”

Another added: ‘An accident has left me struggling to work and support my eight-year-old.

“The professional care, efficiency and empathy were second to none and I can’t recommend this organization highly enough.”

Visit wascu.co.uk

People should also be aware of the risks of “old-school predatory lending,” Williamson added, including payday loans, auto-title lenders and rent-to-own businesses. Payday lenders in particular tend to settle in communities of color, Williamson said, and are marketed as easy ways to get cash. Often, these loans come with high rates.

“They have an established presence in the community, and in many ways low-income consumers need to look beyond that to determine if there are other, more sustainable ways to get a small loan,” said Williamson.

When credit becomes harder to come by during a recession as lenders limit borrowing, people will be tempted to turn to abusive products and worse terms because it seems like whatever is available, Friedline said.

Credit card issuers previously reduced credit limits during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession, a measure that may help them avoid losses from consumers unable to repay debts, according to a June report from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. However, these discounts can dramatically increase usage, or consumers maxing out their cards, which in turn can lower credit scores and make it even more difficult to borrow.

“People on low incomes are short on money, so you may know you’re being scammed, but what other options do you have?” Friedlin said.

Still, she said to watch out for promises of “a new product you’ve never heard of before that’s positioned as something that’s really going to help you,” like payday advances offered by an employer, which may come with a fee. and have worried some consumer advocates.

Given these vulnerabilities, Friedline added, policymakers could put in place more regulations and consumer protections, like interest rate caps on small loans. “The exploitation that we think is likely to happen doesn’t have to happen,” she said.

Of course, not all forms of support are scams. There are government programs that will help cover or reduce utility bills, for example. Consumers can sign up for Federal Trade Commission email alerts to stay up to date on money-saving tips and scammers taking money.

People can contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with complaints about financial services, Friedline noted. The agency also offers several guides for those looking to buy a home, maintain their financial health in emergencies and disasters, or plan for retirement.

Collins, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that it helps to keep an open dialogue with family members about the financial situation. It’s normal to feel stressed about your budget, but there’s no point in ignoring the problems.

“The more people can talk about this stuff, whether it’s virtually or with friends and families or others — just so it’s less taboo — that’s important,” Collins said.

-Emma Ockerman

(END) Dow Jones Newswire

10-30-22 0952ET

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

People should also be aware of the risks of “old-school predatory lending,” Williamson added, including payday loans, auto-title lenders and rent-to-own businesses. Payday lenders in particular tend to settle in communities of color, Williamson said, and are marketed as easy ways to get money. Often these loans come with high rates.

“They have an established presence in the community, and in many ways low-income consumers need to look beyond that to determine if there are other, more sustainable ways to get a small loan,” said Williamson.

When credit becomes harder to come by during a recession as lenders limit borrowing, people will be tempted to turn to abusive products and worse terms because it seems like whatever is available, Friedline said.

Credit card issuers previously reduced credit limits during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession, a measure that may help them avoid losses from consumers unable to repay debts, according to a June report from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. However, these discounts can dramatically increase usage, or consumers maxing out their cards, which in turn can lower credit scores and make it even more difficult to borrow.

“People on low incomes are short on money, so you may know you’re being scammed, but what other options do you have?” Friedlin said.

Still, she said to watch out for promises of “a new product you’ve never heard of before that’s positioned as something that’s really going to help you,” like payday advances offered by an employer, which may come with a fee. and have worried some consumer advocates.

Given these vulnerabilities, Friedline added, policymakers could put in place more regulations and consumer protections, like interest rate caps on small loans. “The exploitation that we think is likely to happen doesn’t have to happen,” she said.

Of course, not all forms of support are scams. There are government programs that will help cover or reduce utility bills, for example. Consumers can sign up for Federal Trade Commission email alerts to stay up to date on money-saving tips and scammers taking money.

People can contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with complaints about financial services, Friedline noted. The agency also offers several guides for those looking to buy a home, maintain their financial health in emergencies and disasters, or plan for retirement.

Collins, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that it helps to keep an open dialogue with family members about the financial situation. It’s normal to feel stressed about your budget, but there’s no point in ignoring the problems.

“The more people can talk about this stuff, whether it’s virtually or with friends and families or others — just so it’s less taboo — that’s important,” Collins said.

-Emma Ockerman

(END) Dow Jones Newswire

10-25-22 2157ET

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Photo by Frida Aguilar Estrada on Unsplash

Opinions expressed by Digital Journal contributors are their own.

As the geopolitical landscape appears more divided than ever, people around the world seem more universally determined than ever to achieve equal financial opportunity.

The financial inclusion movement

According to World Bank Global Findex Database, there are two billion adults worldwide, or about half of the total adult population, who do not have access to financial services provided by regulated financial institutions. While account penetration is almost universal in developed countries, it is only 54% in developing economies. Having no choice on their part, those born into an economy and a political system that do not have access to main stream financial services are forced to rely on unregulated mechanisms for banking, savings and loans, including the use of loan sharks and payday lenders. With little ability to protect themselves by saving and investing for unforeseen needs, many are forced to pledge assets in times of emergency. It’s not fair!

Of the world’s two billion excluded adults, how many are highly intelligent people with the potential to bring life-changing innovations to the rest of the world if only given the opportunity? My guess is a lotand the rest of the world is absent. Financial inclusion and Universal financial access are popular nicknames for a set of far-reaching initiatives that aim to bring affordable, regulated financial services to all individuals and businesses, regardless of their geopolitical origins. When these initiatives are implemented, people are not only lifted out of situations of economic hardship, but are able to seize opportunities far beyond their natal borders. This not only benefits them, but also the rest of the world.

The origin of the problem : Paradigm shift.

Organizations like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, and others have extensive research programs and activities that seek to inform and address financial inclusion. But the hindering factor is not awareness, it is the legacy infrastructure of global financial systems that were designed in bygone times and viewed the world as geographically remote and disconnected. While the internet has changed that notion, and the social norms of today’s connected world offer a completely different expectation, banking systems simply haven’t kept pace.

What’s wrong with today’s financial infrastructure? Lack of innovation.

It has been a long time since traditional financial infrastructure has seen transformational upgrades. Central banks have made little effort to integrate their settlement systems across jurisdictions, and commercial banks have not taken the initiative either. In fact, you could say that the most recent innovation in financial services was the invention of the debit and credit card networks over sixty years ago.

The most inspiring innovations in global financial infrastructure have come from outside the financial services industry over the past decade. The invention of decentralized autonomous financial services built on blockchain-inspired technologies like Bitcoin, was born out of financial crises caused by questionable fiscal and monetary policies as well as the inability of central banking systems to react quickly to market panics. Having proven their potential in practice and through consumer adoption, digital assets and digital currencies are only now beginning to be seriously considered by the mainstream financial establishment.

Great Opportunity.

From a purely capitalist perspective, the market opportunity is staggering. If the positive impact on human equality were not motivation enough, the fact that two billion more adults are active participants in the global economy should provide ample incentive for financial service providers. Unfortunately, banks are simply not organized in such a way as to easily transpose their business models to emerging economies. They need new infrastructure and new “rails” to support a new paradigm in global trade. Digital assets, digital currencies and their underlying distributed networks provide exactly what we need.

Enter Sprocket.

Through my executive career at Wells Fargo and IBM, I encountered extreme resistance to fundamental infrastructure change — “it’s just too risky,” the big bosses said. So off I went chasing the promise of a whole new paradigm. In founding Sprocket, the inspiration was to promote human flourishing through the advancement of global financial technology, bringing regulated banking services to a mobile-connected world. Six years in development, the hybrid banking platform Sprocket seeks to promote the inclusion of all people as qualified participants in the global financial economy, especially those who are limited by the economic regions in which they reside. Together with regulators, we are moving forward to modernize traditional financial infrastructure, to blend the old with the new and to improve fairness and transparency in financial markets.

Come take a look. Come discover a new way to do your banking with gear.financial.

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Despite all the worries about pinching inflation and the possibility of a recession, just-released big bank earnings reports indicate that the wallets of many ordinary Americans are generally holding up as they do facing higher prices – for now.

Stock markets ended Thursday on a rosy note, after starting with a dip and rebounding with a surge following September inflation data that came in hotter than expected.

In November, Narragansett will vote for a new state senator – one for all of Narragansett, Block Island and part of North Kingstown. Current District 36 Senator Alana DiMario comes across as knowledgeable and personable. Yet many of us who live in South Narragansett really don’t know her. So I looked at who is funding their campaign because that often helps us see who a candidate really is.

Have you ever wondered why so many elected officials organize fundraisers outside their constituencies? Wouldn’t it make sense to host such events at a local restaurant whose owner has worked hard to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic? Many senators and representatives would have us believe that they host their events in Providence because it’s closer to the State House where they “work.” The real reason is that the big wins are north of the tower. A look at the campaign money Senator DiMario raised while fundraising in Providence last May is instructive. The list of donors reads like a “who’s who” of connected insiders, lobbyists, current and former elected officials. All of these donations are perfectly legal and comply with our state’s campaign finance laws. It is not the legality of these donations that should concern us; it’s the ethical concerns raised by where the money comes from. Our State House is broken in part because behind every bill there is a deal.

This year, coastal access legislation passed unanimously in the House of Representatives, a rare thing. For it to become law, it still needs to be passed in the Senate. No companion coastal access bill was introduced or heard in the Senate because Senate leaders felt access to our coastline was “not a priority.” How can Senator DiMario, look you in the eye, tell you that she supports expanded coastal access while accepting thousands of dollars from the President of the Senate and his leadership team – the same “leaders that blocked coastal access legislation from entering the State Senate?

It gives me no pleasure to write this, but those of us who desire clean and honest governance should not look away. We must see clearly and demand better.

Senator DiMario is proud to be a progressive senator who is passionate about how all women are treated. In 2019, the RI Democratic State Committee held a vote to pass a bylaws amendment to stifle the voice of the progressive Democratic Women’s Caucus by limiting their ability to endorse and fund their own candidates. The tension mounted during the debate. A former senator and state lobbyist was filmed saying ‘If a pig growls, you don’t growl back’ after a confrontation with a member of the Women’s Caucus.

Why talk about it now? Because Senator DiMario accepted campaign money from the same lobbyist who made the misogynistic remark drawing condemnation from the Women’s Caucus. This lobbyist’s client list includes the auto body industry and pottery shops. Remember the bill Governor McKee vetoed to benefit auto body insiders by allowing them to charge a completely uncapped markup when repairing your fender bender? Senator DiMario voted “yes”. (Rhode Islanders pay the highest auto body repair costs in the nation). But the big money ($40,000) for this guy came from his lobbying for companies known as “payday lenders — predators who prey on the most vulnerable in our society — those in serious financial difficulty. . As one journalist put it, “this is a special class of lobbyists who don’t have to worry about showing up and testifying at the State House. They have the power to kill bills at friendly fundraisers. No cameras but lots of cocktails. Yes, Senator DiMario cashed his check.

This is often the reason why bills like coastal access don’t get introduced in the Senate and why payday loans are never reformed – lobbyists killed the bills. It’s rude and it’s rarely in the public interest.

It didn’t have to be like this. Senator DiMario did not need to play the insider game and take checks from lobbyists. She has demonstrated her ability to raise large sums of money both inside and outside her district. A quick look at his deposits over the past few years shows that 27% of his dollars came from political action committees, 45% from people outside his district and 24% from North Kingstown. Only four percent came from residents of Narragansett.

We all know about money in politics, you have to get your message across. Accepting insider money from the statehouse, however, shows us that behind the smiling photo and talking points crafted by consultants in his glossy campaign mailings is another politician who is like all others.

Margaret Buresh Rogers

Narragansett