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Experts warn against the high costs of applications providing access to employee salaries

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NEW YORK (AP) – When 37-year-old Anna Branch cut her work hours in 2019, she suddenly noticed ads for an app called EarnIn.

“You know how they use you – the algorithms – like they read your mind,” Branch said. “The ad said I could get up to $100 this week and pay it back the next pay period.”

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Branch, who worked as an administrative assistant in Charleston, South Carolina, downloaded the app and added a suggested “tip.” The money helped cover her expenses until payday, when the app took the $100 she borrowed plus a $14 tip. Five years later, Branch said she still uses the app, even once a month.

EarnIn is one of several corporations providing this service, billed as access to wages. Apps provide staff with small, short-term loans between paychecks in order that they pays bills and meet each day needs. On payday, the user repays the money from his salary. According to Datos Insights, between 2018 and 2020, transaction volume tripled from $3.2 billion to $9.5 billion.

While wage access apps have been around for over a decade, the pandemic and its aftermath have increased their popularity. Some apps have accessible, human names – like Dave, Clio, Albert and Brigit – while others suggest financial freedom: Empower, FloatMe, FlexWage, Rain. According to the Government Accountability Office, the typical user earns lower than $50,000 a 12 months and has experienced two years of high inflation.

Anna Branch poses for a portrait on Friday, March 29, 2024, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Proponents of the app say they assist people living paycheck to paycheck manage their funds and avoid having to resort to more burdensome options like payday loans or overdrafts. But some analysts, consumer advocates and lawmakers say these apps are literally payday loans in a brand new technological package and will trap users in a never-ending cycle of borrowing that eats away at their earnings.

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Critics also say that borrowing costs are usually not all the time transparent. Many of them charge monthly subscription fees, and most charge mandatory fees for fast fund transfers, although there will likely be a free option to receive funds inside one to three business days. The average APR on a loan repaid inside 7 to 14 days was 367%, which is a rate comparable to payday loans, according to data report by the Center for Responsible Lending.

Adding to the confusion is the undeniable fact that some employers have incorporated payroll apps into their payrolls, offering different costs, models and fee structures. For example, Amazon and Walmart don’t all the time charge employees for early access to earned wages outside of regular pay periods.

“They suck you in”

Sheri Wilkins, 60, who works as a house health aide in College Station, Texas, said she has been using the app since 2020 and feels “money dependent.”

The health care skilled who employs Wilkins offers Every dayPay, and Wilkins typically uses the app to submit his each day pay amount ($10.60 per hour) twice a day – once after each of two shifts for which he’s paid individually. He pays a fee of $3.49 every time, for a complete of $7 per day. At $35 per week, the app takes up greater than three hours of her wages per week, or a day and a half of work monthly.

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“They trick you into having this money,” Wilkins said. “It’s great to have it – buy groceries and cigarettes – but when it comes time to pay, it only costs $50 or $60.”

Wilkins said she didn’t know the app offered a free option to send money inside one to three days. She said the app all the time directed her to the quick transfer option.

A Every dayPay spokesperson said in a press release that the app offers two no-fee options for many users and a 3rd, which they described as a “small ATM-like fee.”

Matt Bahl, who researches workplace issues for the Financial Health Network, said the growth of the wage access industry is a symptom of widespread financial uncertainty.

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Sheri Wilkins talks about her experience using the Every dayPay app outside the clubhouse at her apartment complex in College Station, Texas, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Craft)

“This is to help address short-term liquidity challenges,” he said. “But if these challenges are the result of insufficient revenue, it will not solve them. You cannot “technically” get out of material deficits.

Tips

Andrew Lewis, 32, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, said he uses EarnIn partially to cover unexpected expenses. Lewis works as a process technician at an electronics manufacturing company and said he sometimes uses the app as often as weekly to get money for gas or do something his child or wife needs.

Lewis often pays the “tips” that the apps suggest, he said, but he “doesn’t like them very much,” partly because of the messages.

“Tips help us advocate for millions of members like you,” the EarnIn app says. The company says it uses suggestions to keep the option free.

“I feel a little guilty about how it sounds,” Lewis said.

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In 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation found that “users often feel pressured to leave (tipping) due to pressure tactics used, such as… claiming that tips are used to support other vulnerable consumers or for charitable purposes.” .

In its report, the department found that Earned Income Access borrowers take out a mean of 36 loans a 12 months. Across 5.8 million transactions, 73% of consumers paid a “tip,” averaging $4.09 per tip. For three dozen loans, that is $147 a 12 months in suggestions alone.

Convenience and no credit checks

Penny Lee, head of industry group the Financial Technology Association, says more individuals are turning to access to wage earners as a convenience that permits them to compensate for “the gap between what a consumer needs to be able to spend… and their wage cycle.”

As with Buy Now and Pay Later loans, the apps don’t perform credit checks and don’t bill you as interest-free. Unlike payday loans or automotive loans, where borrowers pledge their vehicles as collateral, app users do not have to take care of balloon payments, black marks on credit reports or the possibility of losing their automotive in the event that they default. Supporters also say the apps don’t sue or send debt collectors after unpaid debts.

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According to FTA, the average cost of using the Earned Wage Access app is between $2.59 and $6.27. The corporations say the fees are comparable to ATM fees and cheaper than overdraft fees that individuals pay in the event that they don’t manage to pay for of their checking account to cover the bill before a withdrawal. The average overdraft fee is over $25 and will be as high as $36.

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However, in its report, the Center for Responsible Lending said that users of the app saw a 56% increase in overdrafts.

A key moment for regulation

Many states have moved to regulate access to wage earners by limiting fees for these products. The industry supports federal laws currently pending in Congress that might preclude regulation of apps under the Truth in Lending Act.

When Connecticut passed a law limiting the fees apps could charge, EarnIn stopped operating in the state. When asked why, EarnIn CEO Ram Palaniappan said it was not “economically viable.”

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Both California and Hawaii are currently drafting laws to limit wage access fees.

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-WI, one of the supporters of the federal bill, said it “will ensure that workers across the country can continue to benefit from these services, which will help them better balance work and pay.”

But Hawaii state Sen. Chris Lee, a Democrat who introduced the wage access laws in the state Senate, called rates of interest of greater than 300 percent a “modern day payday program.” Lee said he would really like to see more transparency and protections for staff.

Lauren Saunders, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, says this can be a key moment for regulation.

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“If people used (access to earned wages) to cover one emergency expense a year, that would be better than being charged overdraft fees, payday loans or car equity loans,” she said. “But being better than terrible predatory products shouldn’t be the bar.”


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Lifestyle

Schools announced to the National Battle of the Bands

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HBCU Marching Band, Alabama State University, battle of the bands


Another national battle of bands will happen in Houston on August 23 at the NRG stadium.

According to Webber Marketing, he accomplished a press conference. The company is working With the unit of Harris – Houston Sports Authority and Lone Star Sports & Entertainment to bring the public the national battle of the Pepsi Battle of the Batts. It shall be the eleventh anniversary of the event.

Eight schools will present talents of musicians participating in the National Battle of the Bands.

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“Officially, there is the composition of the National Battle of Pepsi in Pepsi in Pepsi and we bring 8 most dynamic marching teams in the country to the NRG stadium in August!”

“We try to raise the platform and experience each year,” said Derek Webber, general director of Webber Marketing and executive producer of the National Battle of the Bands. “NBOTB is more than a performance. It’s a move that celebrates tradition, talent and impact of HBCU throughout the country.”

Recommended schools are:

  • Alabama A&M University – Marching Maroon & White
  • Albany State University – Marching Rams Show Band
  • Florida A&M University – “100” marching
  • Jackson State University – sound boom in the south
  • Langston University – Marching Pride Band
  • North Carolina A & T State University – Blue & Gold Marching Machine
  • Prairie view a & m university – Marching Storm
  • Texas Southern University – “Ocean of Soul”

The event will include several functions for the community except and in reference to NBOTB.

2025 nbotb Weeknitowe Wydłody includes:
  • Emerging Experience Conference: Powered by JPMorgan Chase, combining innovators and small business leaders. Free of charge with registration.
  • Fan experience (Saturday, August 23 at NRG Center from 12:00 – 15:30):
    Free, community -oriented event that enlivens the energy of the NBOTB weekend. The impressions of the fans are the following foremost activations:
  • Pepsi experience: Interactive experience with national performances of artists, live entertainment and the living market of suppliers and partners.
  • HBCU College & Career Fair: An event wealthy in resources that mix students with HBCU and profession possibilities through details about parties, representatives on the spot and lots of others.
  • Walk from the competition: Dynamic showcase of step and walking culture, celebrating black Greek letter organizations and HBCU tradition.
  • Nbotb cares community outreach: Transfer of initiatives corresponding to feeding the involvement of the homeless and youth.

To get details about the event, people can go to the website www.nationalbattleofthebands.com. Information can be available through social media: @Nationalbattleoftheofthebands on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube. @Nationalbotb on Twitter.

(Tagstotransate) Battle of the Bands

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Prayer led Bobby Brown to search for therapy after losing Whitney Houston, daughter of Bobbi Kristina and son Bobby Jr.

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Over the years, Bobby Brown had to endure great regret, including the worst nightmare of every parent, the death of a baby.

During the looks ofJennifer Hudson Show“On Monday, May 19, a 56-year-old R&B singer opened on how he moved in regret after the death of his daughter Bobbi Kristina, son of Bobby Brown Jr. and his ex-wife Whitney Houston.

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“First of all, a lot of prayer, which absolutely took me to the point where I accepted therapy in my life,” said Brown Hudson. “I accepted going to the therapist and really solve all the problems I had in me.”

Brown, who was married to the manager Alicia Eteredgedge since 2012 and has five additional children, assigns her family and stays near his family members, “when times become” as a source of strength.

“They are still there because (regret) doesn’t end. It’s not like it is going to simply disappear. It will likely be with you ceaselessly, nevertheless it’s about coping with it and really being attentive to yourself. Paying attention to how you’re feeling that day and informing someone how you’re feeling.

Brown and Houston, who had a famous but passionate relationship, were married for 14 years from 1992 to 2007. They welcomed Bobbi Kristina, their only child together, in 1993 on February 11, 2012, Houston died by accidental drowning related to the use of drugs on the hotel on the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills. She was 48 years old. Bobbi Kristina died in an especially similar way on July 26, 2015, on the age of 22, and on November 18, 2020, Bobby Brown Jr., whom Brown shared with Kim Ward, also died of drug overdose. He was 27 years old.

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From the death of Bobbi Kristina, who in July in July within the tenth anniversary, Brown honored his heritage while launching Bobbi Kristina Serenity HouseNon -profit, which provides resources to victims of domestic violence.

Brown told Hudson that his daughter was not largely due to domestic violence.

“What happened to my daughter, I don’t want it to happen with a child of another man or a woman,” said Brown. “That is why we have Bobbi Kristina Serenity House to be a safe haven for those who undergo domestic violence.”

He added: “It’s time to speak. You know, people have to speak and ask for help. And when you don’t ask for help, a friend must ask for help. We must watch out for themselves. House of peace is there, as I said, be a safe haven for those who have to escape from a situation that is not healthy.”

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Former bodyguard Whitney Houston once considered risking all this for a deceased singer

(Tagstranslat) Bobby Brown

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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“Gingers to black”

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Ginger, Black people, tiktok


The hot approach to Tiktok has evolved into expressing solidarity between black people and red -haired white people, commonly referred to as gums on social media. While on the surface of solidarity it seems a bit strange, unity is due to the common experience of oppression due to physical characteristics over which no group controls.

According to the creator of Tiktoku, he stated that “everyone who is ginger who has red hair; these are black people. All tenants are black people. If they have red hair, they are black,” the thought quickly swept in social media, in an identical way to discourse that every one women are burned.

Shamar Dickens, a 33-year-old black artist from Atlanta, said he has it related to many Red -haired, who shared their stories about ostraconization or bad treatment with him, which caused him to think deeper about how other white people treat gums and the way white people, more broadly, treat black people.

“There were so many of them with very similar stories about their childhood and upbringing, which shaped my view on this. There are definitely black people of the white community, especially after hearing about their history and hardships,” said Dickens.

He continued: “As a black person and how I feel about it, I look at it from another point! There is so much negativity in the world, and even more division in the world. I love it because it produces so much positiveness and love.”

According to Dr. Tydden, an assistant to the Urban Planning Professor on the University of Toronto, the trend touches the historical treatment of Irish (who are sometimes red -haired), after they first emigrated to America and had to gain white because they weren’t perceived as white people, solidarity with black people.

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“This trend refers to the historical marginalization of” gums “, phenotypes highly associated with the Irish. Treatment of Irish, especially at the hands of the British, is well documented, and their discrimination went well in American colonization. This historically created solidarity between African-American and Irish populations, “said Rodden Outlet.

Redden also warned that the trend in Tiktoku failed, partly because a few of them had accepted what it means to be white in America.

“Instead of referring to the ways in which tenants are treated, e.g. it is believed that it is unattractive (addressed to men) or fetishized (in the case of women), some films transformed into the co-optation of black cultural expressions so that the creators could demonstrate their” blackness “-Redden said.

“He was a black artist who emphasized how they were treated badly, and it is unfortunate to become an opportunity to disregard African -American traditions,” Redden noted.

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Melanie Preston, a licensed mental health therapist at Matter of Focus advising, repeated Redden’s criticism and said that the flattening of separate historical experiences of individuals or other digital currency is a bit naive.

“Comparison of being red to being black may feel nervous and even confirm some, nevertheless it is fake equivalence. Red -haired can face teasing – people have faced the generations of systemic, legalized oppression. Borrowing black pain to confirm other struggles, doesn’t construct solidarity – it erases the context. fight ”to confirm other struggles.

Connor, a 27-year-old creator of Rudy’s content, who often creates satirical movies, said that he understands the seriousness of similarities between black people and red-haired, despite the final “unnecessary nature” of this trend.

“Growing up, they were defined by hair, intimidated, stereotypical,” said Connor. “This” other “is something that I know is a common experience.”

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He also admitted that white leases are still white, which suggests that they’ve some benefits that black people won’t ever receive within the United States.

“At the tip of the day, white ginger is white, which brings all of the privileges, perspectives and experiences common for being white. We won’t ever really have the ability to compare our experience with a median black person, but we will sympathize with, support, love and stand in solidarity because imitate yourself – said Connor.

(Tagstranslat) tiktok

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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