Hong Kong’s gig workers face loan hurdles despite 95% holding prime credit status

About 82% of gig workers met payment obligations vs 80% of the city’s general population.

Gig workers in Hong Kong are a growing borrower segment with the same risk level as the rest of the market, but still find it difficult to get a loan, according to TransUnion.

Nearly 1 in 3 (32%) of gig workers have applied for new credit or refinancing in the past six months, TransUnion said in its 2026 study on the gig economy in Hong Kong, based on a survey of 500 gig workers in the city. A further 37% plan to do so over the next 12 months.

However, 1 in 2 gig workers still reported difficulties for credit, with 45% citing unfavourable pricing and 41% noting complex application procedures.

Meanwhile, 36% report being unable to provide required documentation such as pay slips, and 31% said their fluctuating income led to questions or rejection.

Gig workers’ repayment behaviour closely aligns with the broader market with no evidence of structurally higher risk, TransUnion said. Amongst the 500 respondents, 95% reported being prime and above credit risk tiers, higher than the 90% of the general credit active population.

Furthermore, 82% meet their payment obligations without difficulty, compared to 80% of the general population, the study found.

“As gig work has become an ongoing supplementary income source for many, the wider credit industry has an opportunity to rethink how these consumers are evaluated and to broaden credit inclusion by refining how non-traditional income is assessed within existing risk and process frameworks,” said Weihan Sun, senior director of research and consulting for Asia Pacific at TransUnion.

Gig workers make up approximately 13% of the city’s workforce, according to a 2026 study by TransUnion. Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) earn a salary or hourly wage from full-time employment in addition to their gig income.

“Gig workers are a material and growing borrower segment who are often mistakenly perceived as having riskier, volatile income trends and inconsistent payment behaviours,” Sun said, adding that TransUnion’s findings show that gig workers’ credit profiles and repayment behaviour are broadly consistent with the rest of the Hong Kong market.

“This suggests that outcomes are more closely linked to income and borrowers’ individual characteristics than employment type alone,” Sun said.