Consumer Finance

Consumer financing is when a business offers financing to their customers with help from a professional finance company. This allows the consumer to pay for a good or service they couldn't pay for up front in cash or credit card. Consumer finance is helpful for both businesses and consumers
Consumer Finance
Student Loan Borrowers Scramble to Pick New Repayment Plans
September 13, 2026

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are racing to pick new repayment options under the governmental rules. That’s according to a report Sunday (Sept. 13) from The Hill, which says borrowers on the now-defunct Biden-era SAVE Plan must choose a new repayment plan within 90...

Consumer Finance
Surprise Bills Test the Value of Subprime Credit
September 09, 2026

Watch more: Need to Know With Concora Credit’s Jason Tinurelli An emergency expense doesn’t need to overwhelm a household budget to create a credit problem. For subprime consumers, a medical bill, car repair or veterinary expense can redirect enough cash to jeopardize a payment, putting...

Consumer Finance
Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumers Have Already Cut the Lattes
September 09, 2026

Meet Tom and Elaine. (Our names, not theirs.) Both report household income between $65,000 and $70,000. Both are married, live in a city and say day-to-day spending is why they live paycheck to paycheck. For both, the next paycheck is critical to meeting their monthly...

Consumer Finance
Block Lets Lenders Access Cash App Credit Insights
September 01, 2026

Block says it is opening its Cash App score to external lenders for the first time. Using Nova Credit as a distribution partner, Block will make Cash App’s proprietary, cash flow-based credit score available to lenders via Nova Credit’s Cash Flow Intelligence Platform, the company...

Consumer Finance
Summer Expenses Will Follow 77% of Gen Z Into Fall
September 01, 2026

The biggest threat to the summer budget may be the expenses consumers can’t cancel. New PYMNTS Intelligence data suggests that groceries, utility bills and transportation costs are putting more pressure on household budgets than vacations, camps or back-to-school shopping. The findings come from “New PYMNTS...

Consumer Finance
TransUnion Overhauls Credit Scoring System for UK Consumers
August 26, 2026

TransUnion says it is modernizing the way it calculates U.K. consumers’ credit scores. The information, insights and credit reporting company on Wednesday (Aug. 26) introduced a new credit scoring system designed to help consumers better understand their credit score and their options when it comes to borrowing....

Consumer Finance
62% of Financially Improving Households Have a Savings Cushion
August 26, 2026

As today’s consumer confidence reading from The Conference Board shows, metrics can be complicated. They may be holding in a narrow range, but household finances are moving in a less stable direction. The August 2026 PYMNTS Consumer Expectations Index (PCEI) finds that the overall index...

Consumer Finance
Consumers Make Budgets Work by Doing More Than Cutting Back
August 25, 2026

Households squeezed by higher prices are getting better results when they treat budgeting like a toolbox, not a single pair of scissors. A new PYMNTS Intelligence data book, “Five Ways Consumers Make Tight Budgets Work Harder,” finds that consumers are combining small changes to protect essential spending. They’re trimming...

Consumer Finance
Rising Fuel Costs Change How 64% of Workers Work
August 18, 2026

A posted hourly wage can overstate what a shift is worth to the person being asked to work it. Gas, tolls, vehicle expenses and unpaid travel time come out of what the worker earns, and those costs can turn an otherwise acceptable shift into one...