The Financial Health Network wrote this Policy Perspective that draws on our past small-dollar credit work to inform the conversation around recent regulatory actions.

The Center for Financial Services Innovation responds to the FDIC’s Request for Information on Small-Dollar Lending based on our research into the consumer behaviors, products, and providers that comprise the market for small-dollar credit.

Active military members have more consumer debt and lower self-reported credit scores than civilians, but secured credit cards can limit service members’ financial vulnerabilities.

Americans in rural communities are losing access to locally available, affordable financial services and products.

The Financial Health Network submitted its response to the CFPB’s request for information regarding use of alternative data and modeling techniques in the credit process on February 16, 2017. In the letter, the Financial Health Network acknowledges that the use of alternative data in the credit process poses both risks and benefits to consumers. The letter also states the Financial Health Network’s belief that consumers will be better able to achieve financial health if they have access to innovative credit products that are safe, affordable, and of high quality, enabling them to manage their day-to-day finances, weather financial shocks, and pursue longterm opportunities.

The Financial Health Network is submitting this letter in response to the request for comments on “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans,” issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and published on July 22, 2016.

In partnership with the Financial Health Network, Oportun, a community development financial institution, have set about to understand and demystify the cost of credit that consumers face.

The 2016 Challenge topic of the Financial Solutions Lab is Helping Americans Weather Financial Shocks. This issue brief introduces the topic, the reasons it is an important problem to solve, and some innovative approaches to doing so.

We can educate consumers and provide access to financial products and services. But how do we help consumers use their knowledge and tools to improve their financial behavior and become financially healthy?

Discover how Nix Neighborhood Lending has made a lasting impact on its customers in South Central Los Angeles by providing a variety of credit services to this vulnerable group.

This report reveals that financially underserved American consumers spent $138 billion in fees and interest revenue in 2014, generated from a volume of $1.6 trillion in financial activity.

LIFT-UP (Local Interventions for Financial Empowerment through Utility Payments) is a multi-city initiative overseen by the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education, and Families designed to provide financial counseling to delinquent utility customers