TransUnion is urging lenders to update their risk assessment models, revealing that gig workers in Hong Kong exhibit strong repayment discipline and present an untapped market for the credit sector.
A new study by the credit reporting agency found that these individuals make up approximately 13% of the domestic workforce.
Most do not rely solely on freelance income, as 89% earn a regular salary alongside their side jobs.
The data challenges the assumption that non-traditional employment equates to higher lending risk.
Among surveyed gig workers in Hong Kong, 95% sit in prime or higher credit tiers, compared to 90% of the broader credit-active population.
Repayment behaviour also mirrors the wider market.
TransUnion reported that 82% of these workers met their obligations without difficulty, slightly outperforming the 80% rate seen across the general public.
“Gig workers are a material and growing borrower segment who are often mistakenly perceived as having riskier, volatile income trends and inconsistent payment behaviours,”
said Weihan Sun, Senior Director of Research and Consulting for Asia Pacific, TransUnion.
High demand meets application friction
Despite their strong profiles, gig workers in Hong Kong face frequent hurdles when trying to access financial products.
Almost half of the respondents across all age groups reported difficulties during the credit application process.
The challenges stem from traditional underwriting rules that struggle to evaluate alternative income.
Applicants frequently face unfavourable pricing, complex procedures, and rejections because they cannot provide standard documentation like traditional pay slips.
This friction exists even though the segment shows a high appetite for borrowing.
The study found 32% had applied for new credit or refinancing in the past six months.
Their uptake of mainstream products outpaces the general public, with 28% holding mortgages and 22% holding personal loans.
A permanent shift in employment
Lenders can no longer treat freelance work as a temporary phase.
Nearly three-quarters of the surveyed gig workers in Hong Kong plan to continue this type of work in the near future.
To capture this growing demographic, financial institutions will need to look beyond traditional salary assessments.
Incorporating alternative data into risk frameworks would allow banks to better evaluate these consumers and expand their lending portfolios safely.
“Adapting to consumers’ evolving profiles by including alternative data, for example, could better meet the needs of more Hong Kong consumers while driving sustainable, long-term growth for lenders,”
said Sun.
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