After the launch of our first survey report in 2022 - The hidden costs of gig workers living - We are announcing the launch of 2023 edition: The Gig Economy Equality Gap. This new report, which has been published in collaboration with an independant UK survey consultancy, reveals the concerns gig workers in the UK and in France have and gives an overview of the financial exclusion they experience.
Financial service accessibility concerns
Gig workers have multiple and diverse streams of income to validate when applying to a financial service. This can create a complex verification process when financial institutions undertake a risk assessment on an application. Gig workers surveyed expressed their concerns with having equal opportunities as PAYE workers.
About 80% of French and British gig workers believe they don’t have the same access to financial services as PAYE workers.
The banks data disconnect
Data is a critical asset for financial institutions to validate an application accurately and fairly. However, financial institutions report a data disconnect between current risk assessment processes and gig workers income and employment records. Of 500 financial institutions surveyed, a quarter say it is a struggle to gain access to all income and employment records to assess all the risks of an individual’s financial credibility when assessing an application.
73% said their current risk assessment processes are not able to see a complete picture of a gig worker’s payments, income, and employment records.
The growing impact of financial inequality
On top of the cost-of-living pinch felt by all kinds of workers, gig workers face additional setbacks when applying to loans and mortgages. The strain of this has caused them to reassess career choices: on average, UK gig workers have taken on 4 jobs in order to manage financially during the cost of living crisis.
To establish fair scoring models that cater to all types of workers, financial institutions must gain swift and seamless access to alternative data points that accurately reflect the financial stability of self-employed individuals from various working categories.
Some banks and lenders are now turning to data integration to enable inclusive credit underwriting to accommodate a growing gig economy.
We are on a mission to make income data collection simple, reliable and fast.
Rollee is an Open Finance platform enabling financial institutions to have easy, reliable and fast access to income and employment data.
