Income share agreements (ISAs) have been making strides for some time now. At the moment, most have been utilized as an alternative to student loan debt. However, the utility of an ISA should not just be limited to education. It can be a tool utilized in a variety of situations, especially those with a lot of uncertainty surrounding them. The following ideas are only a few of the many ways ISAs can be applied in the future.
Income Share Agreements for Immigration
Immigrating to the US (or other countries) can cost people thousands of dollars and, in many cases, is difficult to navigate. It can also cost extra if a lawyer gets involved to help, which is helpful with how confusing immigration law can be. Many people come to the US with no money in their pockets, looking for opportunity. On top of that, it can be difficult for many immigrants to secure a personal loan, due to a variety of reasons, including a lack of credit history.
With the increasing difficulty required to immigrate to America, income share agreements could help bridge the gap. Using an ISA, a lawyer could front the money in exchange for their services. After the process is complete, the new citizen could pay a percentage of their income, for a period of their time to repay the services. Alternatively, a third party could also front the money and choose a lawyer to help throughout the process.
Health Care
Surgery can cost someone a lot of time and money. If someone isn't working after surgery, they are paying for health care and missing out on income. In many cases, people tend to need help paying for the bill even when working. One arrangement that could help, is if hospitals offered income share agreements based on the treatment. Based on the risk and their experience via each customer, they could offer an ISA to recover the money. Those hospitals with the best doctors could also offer the best rates, knowing that the person will get to work sooner. This will help increase transparency between hospitals and customers.
Sports
Playing a sport with major league ambitions can be risky. Amateur sports don't pay that well, but the players still risk injury and forgo other income in order to live out their dreams. Applying the concept of income share agreements to this, players could pool their risk by sharing a percentage of their income. Players could create a pool and apply a small percent of their income to that pool. If any of the players were to become successful, they would share a small amount of that money with the rest of their players. Of course, this type of program could have many different issues, like someone not putting the effort in once they are part of the pool, this could be amended into the ISA.
With the current uncertainty surrounding income share agreements, no one is really sure where they are heading in the future. However, there is room for new and innovative uses of this financial tool. Maybe someday someone will start to implement these tools. No matter what happens, it seems that income-sharing has a bright future ahead. If you're interested in refinancing your student loans with an ISA, Defynance has the product for you.
