A Solution for Employee Financial Stability During COVID-19
RENO, NV - March 24, 2020 -- Opportunity Alliance Nevada (OANV) would like to announce a new partnership with a fair, responsible and credit-building alternative to predatory lending. This new partnership with Employee Loan Solutions, LLC is especially important during today’s health and economic crisis to provide help for employees in financial need. Through the partnership, Employee Loan Solutions, LLC offers TrueConnect, an employer-based, financial wellness voluntary benefit that helps employees improve their personal finances, reduce stress, and improve their productivity at work.
The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is creating an evolving situation with varied impacts around the world and across the states. OANV has redirected their efforts to be a resource for financial guidance during these uncertain times and to help provide pathways back to financial stability. We are partnering with other state-wide agencies to provide access to evolving information, tools and resources and to help Nevadans manage the financial impacts created by this health crisis. We will provide access to Financial Navigators to help you through this tough time. For more information, please email [email protected] or call 775-219-3789 and leave your name, number and a brief message. We look forward to supporting our community in this time of need.
According to CareerBuilder, 78% of all American workers are living paycheck-to-paycheck. According to the Nevada State Outcome & Policy Report , 41% of Nevadans did not keep an emergency savings fund last year.
On Tuesday, March 14, 2020, Governor Sisolak of Nevada ordered all nonessential businesses, like many of Nevada’s service industry businesses: casinos, entertainment venues among many others, to close for 30 days due to COVID-19. This leaves many households with a reduced source of income, either from a spouse who’s been laid off, a mother or father who needs to stay home for childcare or reduced working hours due to new restrictions.
Because of this, many Nevadans have turned to payday lenders or predatory lending practices to take care of unplanned expenses, mainly because they don’t require a credit score to take a loan. Payday loans typically cost consumers more than 650% APR in Nevada, and can trap people in an endless cycle of debt. According to Nevadans for the Common Good, There are estimated to be more high-interest payday lenders charging in Nevada than both McDonalds and Starbucks combined.
Together, OANV and Employee Loan Solutions’ mission is to provide employees with access to safe, simple and secure access to small-dollar loans and ultimately, financial stability.
“OANV is able to address the emerging financial needs in times of crisis and bring together tools and resources to navigate the crisis and create pathways back to financial stability,” shared Lynda Hascheff, OANV’s Executive Director. “We will see increased predatory financial practices during this time, and the TrueConnect program is an important alternative that promotes fair and responsible lending, as well as instigates a reliable solution for financial self-sufficiency.”
In the majority of states, payday lending is regulated pretty heavily. However, this does not include the state of Nevada. Nevada has no limit on payday loans offered in the state. The maximum loan term is 35 days. There are no set limits to the interest rates, however, the loan amount should not exceed 25% of gross monthly income. With these payday lending guidelines, Nevadans experience extreme financial hardship when taking a loan out with a payday lender in addition to the original financial hardship that led to the need for a loan.
With TrueConnect, OANV can provide Nevadan employees access to financial coaching, affordable loans, ways to build credit and a solution to save their hard-earned money. At no cost or financial risk to employers, TrueConnect provides access to a loan from an FDIC-insured federal bank without the need for a credit score, based only on the employee’s income and length of employment. No credit score or credit report is required. The loans are repaid through small, automated deductions from the employee’s paycheck over a one-year term - the same process used for other payroll deducted benefit programs. Those payments are reported to credit agencies to help employees establish or improve their credit history.
“We’re excited to partner with Opportunity Alliance Nevada,” said Doug Farry, VP Partners at TrueConnect. “While we work with employers across the US, OANV will help connect us with the employers and employees in Nevada who are most focused on the financial health of their employees, especially during a time of high alert and stress. We can provide the financial relief Nevadan employees need to feel safe and secure.”
Now more than ever, Opportunity Alliance Nevada is committed to combating payday lenders and the rules and regulations around payday lenders in the state. Through this partnership and other income initiatives, Opportunity Alliance Nevada is leading the charge to improve access to more reasonable and cost-effective alternatives that help people save money for emergencies and build their credit over time to qualify for more affordable loans.
OANV’s Board President, Nancy Brown stated, “OANV is working to improve the personal financial behaviors of Nevadans by providing the resources needed to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. We want to integrate financial capability programming into the DNA of all Nevadans! The TrueConnect program will be an important, and critical addition to these resources.”
The TrueConnect program is available to for-profit, government and nonprofit employers. Interested employers can reach out to Lynda Hascheff at Opportunity Alliance Nevada directly ( [email protected] ) or to Doug Farry at TrueConnect ( [email protected] ), for more information.
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About Opportunity Alliance Nevada: Opportunity Alliance Nevada (501c3) brings together resources and people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to investigate and understand barriers faced by struggling low to moderate income Nevadans and provide pathways to self-sufficiency. We accomplish this through Training, Financial Coaching, Mentorship, Advocacy, Partnerships and Collaborations. For more information about Opportunity Alliance Nevada, please visit www.opportunityalliancenv.org/ or connect with us on Facebook .
About Employee Loan Solutions, Inc : Employee Loan Solutions, Inc. developed the patented TrueConnect Loan program as a voluntary employee benefit to help employees access safe and affordable credit. The TrueConnect Loan is free for employers to offer and requires very little administration. Qualified employees get access to small dollar loans (from $1000 – $5000) that are repaid through automatic payroll deductions. Employees do not need a credit history but can only borrow what they can pay back with 8% of their paycheck to help insure a successful loan repayment. On-time payments are reported to credit bureaus so borrowers can build up their credit scores. For more information about Employee Loan Solutions, please visit www.TrueConnectLoan.com or connect with us on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn .
