More Than Half of Americans Seek Loans Despite Inflation and High Rates: defi SOLUTIONS Survey
By Roy Urrico
“Americans aren’t done borrowing, but they’re not exactly excited about it either,” revealed defi SOLUTIONS’ 2026 Borrower Outlook, which surveyed 1,500 U.S. consumers about how they approach borrowing, compare lenders and evaluate the loan experience. More than half of consumers (52.2%) revealed they are open to taking out a loan in the near future, yet 55.1% admit they try to avoid debt whenever they can.
“Consumer loan demand has been subdued, but our research suggests the tide could be starting to shift,” said Tom Allanson, CEO at defi SOLUTIONS. “More than half of consumers are considering borrowing, and as that demand returns, lenders will be competing for borrowers whose expectations have evolved. Affordability will always matter, but today’s borrower is also shopping around and evaluating the entire experience, from the first interaction to the ease of the digital process to the ability to reach a person when needed. Lenders should be taking a hard look at whether they’re prepared to deliver on those expectations.”
The survey from the Westlake, Texas-based defi SOLUTIONS, which provides end-to-end, SaaS loan originations, servicing, and managed servicing solutions, was conducted via the online market research platform Pollfish on August 27, 2026.
Why the survey results matter for lenders, according to defi SOLUTIONS:
Lenders need to address consumers' concerns about affordability and financial commitments, not just make credit easier to access.
With nearly half of consumers comparing three or more lenders, credit unions, banks and finance companies need to earn borrowers' business through clear communication and a strong first impression.
Consumers increasingly want streamlined digital experiences without losing access to human assistance when questions arise.
Research Findings
“We found some really interesting kind of trends, a little over half, really don't want to take out any debt, which I think is good,” Allanson told Finopotamus. “But at the same time, about 53% of them are willing to consider a purchase. A majority of them, pretty close to 80% will shop.”
Other findings include:
Nearly half of respondents (47.3%) compare three or more lenders, and 30.5% compare two. Only 22.1% go straight to one lender.
When deciding on the lender from, 46.5% prioritized rate and loan term, while reputation and trustworthiness ranked second at 24.6%.
Their first interaction with a lender is “very important” to 61.2%, while another 35.7% said it is somewhat important.
Forty-four and a half percent prefer a mostly digital application with easy access to a person if questions arise, compared with 17.9% who want a fully digital process with no human interaction, and 24.5% who prefer working directly with someone in person or over the phone.
Inflation and the rising cost of living were cited by 41.9% of respondents as economic pressures weighing on borrowing decisions, slightly ahead of high interest rates at 40.1%. Financial stress was cited by 33.7%, while about one in five respondents expressed concern about not getting approved.
Buying a vehicle was the most common reason for borrowing, cited by 24.3% of respondents, ahead of emergency expenses (12.7%), buying a home (10.9%), and consolidating debt (8.4%).
When evaluating a loan, 47.8% said the best interest rate matters most, followed by the lowest monthly payment (affordability) at 38.6%. When asked what would most increase their willingness to move forward, 39.8% chose a lower interest rate, and 32.9% selected lower monthly payments.
“About 20% of (responders) will go to the same lender that they trust and know,” emphasized Allanson. “There is a huge opportunity for credit unions based on their reputation and what they do for their members to really drive that to be a significantly higher number.”
Borrower Expectations Changing
“Consumers' expectations have changed pretty radically and I would say AI is probably fueling a lot of that,” observed Allanson. As a result, potential borrowers expect information delivered to them in a very consumable fashion. “So, you have to tailor what you provide back to them in a summarized way that they can digest. There are a lot of options for us to do that. And I think credit unions can do that masterfully.”
Credit unions know their members so they can tailor whatever the borrowing solution is to them, suggested Allanson. “Because you know me as well as you do, give me some alternatives and tell me why these might be good alternatives for me. And I think that's meaningful to consumers because it's about me and it's using information about me.”
There is also value in existing relationships regarding loyalty to the credit unions or banks. “Twenty-five percent of the people who are looking go to the same lender. A number of them told us that trust is an important part of the decision-making process that they make when they do take out a loan,” explained Allanson.
Digital Convenience by Itself Not Enough
A small percentage of people in the survey said they wanted to have a digital-only experience, noted Allanson. “A large percentage, almost 50% said, ‘Look, I’ll go digital, but I want to make sure that there's somebody there that actually can help me,’” he said, “That means that if I'm online doing something and I contact you, I want you to be able to assist me from where I was, not start asking me a bunch of questions where I’ve already (answered).”
However, there is also a huge opportunity for credit unions in educating their members and helping them enhance financial acumen, conveyed Allanson. “One of the dynamics that's been happening in the market over the last several years is negative equity.” He described many consumers taking out a long-term loan to buy a car. “By the time they want to get into another car, they still have payments and those payments are greater than the value of the vehicle. So, they roll that negative equity into the next loan, and then they look for a long-term loan on that. They will have a negative equity on that new loan as long as the loan exists.”
That is where credit unions can supply human support. “I think that the credit unions can do a good job of providing alternative structures. Really help with the financial acumen and they can do that all digitally,” said Allanson. “And then when they need the help, the human is there to help them.”
AI Incorporated in the Process
defi SOLUTIONS has used artificial intelligence for a number of years to simplify and advise clients, Allanson told Finopotamus. “If you think about our products, origination, and managed servicing, it's really workflows with rules. And we're using AI to kind of monitor those workflows and those rules to provide advice to our clients so that they can make better decisions.”
Allanson clarified the role of AI. “We're not using AI to make decisions. We're using the AI to advise our clients on decisions they should consider automatically without having to have an analyst look at it.”
“If you have an analyst looking at the same credit profiles and making the same decision, our advice is going to be, you should make that a rule,” suggested Allanson. “Funding is the same way. We use AI to analyze those dockets that can provide information to the underwriter. Then we do the same thing on the managed servicing side. There's a lot of opportunity for us to leverage AI to provide better solutions for the consumer that still allow the credit union to be in the loop.”
AI is something that is super helpful that everybody ought to be adopting, recommended Allanson. “I don't find that the credit unions have been adopting it as fast as I think they could. They need to think about it more as an assistant in a deterministic world than using it for probability kinds of risky decision making that I think concerns a lot of financial institutions in general.”
“We can offer a better consumer experience. And quite frankly, we can tailor the experience much more along the lines of what each credit union wants. A lot of credit unions want to offer their members experiences that are unique to them,” Allanson said. “And I think that leveraging technology in interesting ways allows us to do that.”
Lenders are defi SOLUTIONS clients, maintained Allanson. “The banks, the credit unions, you are our clients and we do work on their behalf. It is a kind of B2B2C kind of business. We are a white label business. We're not a brand that households know. We're a behind the scenes technology provider that helps lenders be better at providing those experiences for consumers.
defi SOLUTIONS contains multiple consumer lending types within the credit union market, according to Allanson. “Our heritage is auto. We started getting into power sports, RV, marine, and then consumer lending. We're in the process of completing our HELOC build, which would then give us a home equity lines of credit and home equity loans as well. So, we really run the full gamut of consumer lending.”
