Research Group to Test Auto Loan for Low-Income Borrowers

The Filene Research Institute is gearing up to test the National Credit Union Foundation’s auto loan program for low-income borrowers, according to a recent article from the Credit Union Times. The program rewards consumers for on-time payments, rather than penalizing them for late payments.

Testing of NCUF’s product will begin in January 2014 and last 18 months. Filene’s financial services incubator will evaluate how well NCUF’s product works to provide loan accessibility. The incubator was started in August with a $700,000 grant from the Ford Foundation.

Cynthia Campbell, Filene’s director of innovation labs, told Credit Union Times that the program was picked for testing from more than 20 submissions.