OppFi Debuts Same-Day Funding Service for Underserved Borrowers

Digital loan platform OppFi has introduced a same-day funding service aimed at underserved borrowers.

The service lets qualified customers who apply and get approval by 1 p.m. on business days receive funding the same day, according to a Tuesday (Feb. 7) press release.

“The same-day funding service supports OppFi’s overall commitment to improving customer financial health,” OppFi said in a news release, which also noted that the company had recently marked its 1 millionth unique customer.

In addition to its loan products, OppFi offers access to financial education and resources, and it maintains partnerships with organizations to help borrowers.

Among these are SpringFour, which helps consumers reduce household expenses and avoid payment delinquencies, and Experian Boost, which works with consumers to help them improve their credit scores.

The launch comes as a wave of rising delinquencies among subprime and near-prime borrowers illustrate the strain of living paycheck to paycheck.

Earnings reports by lenders have showcased the fact that delinquencies and charge-offs are rapidly ramping back up after hitting lows during the pandemic.

Generally speaking, subprime borrowers have credit scores of 580 to 619, and near-prime borrowers have credit scores of between 620 and 659.

Research by PYMNTS showed that consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and have issues paying their bills each month have a below-average credit score of 613.

“The average credit score for all consumers who live paycheck to paycheck is 664 — and since a majority of us, at 64%, live paycheck to paycheck, per the most recent findings, the read across is that a significant portion of the U.S. economy sits within the subprime and near-prime designations,” PYMNTS wrote.

Meanwhile, there’s evidence that consumers have a need for the financial education tools OppFi offers, as financial literacy in America is on the decline.

Research by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) showed that the average person who took the group’s financial literacy survey could answer 2.6 questions correctly, with just 4% of respondents able to find the correct answer to all five questions.

That’s down from three out of five questions when FINRA conducted the survey in 2009.

“These numbers have real-life implications as consumers deal with record inflation, forcing them to stretch their dollars and scramble to rework household budgets,” PYMNTS wrote.