When freelance job platforms start offering credit, is it time to celebrate or address the payment crisis first?

By Katherine Steiner-Dicks Last updated Dec 10, 2025

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich via Peels

OPINION

A Youlend-Upwork partnership highlights growing freelancer reliance on credit to bridge cash flow gaps and take on bigger projects. Despite filling a market gap, Katherine Steiner-Dicks feels something fundamental about the freelancer payment crisis needs to be addressed by these platforms before more services like theirs come to market

Independent professionals are increasingly turning to borrowing to survive payment delays, cancelled projects without compensation and the endemic “payment on publication” practices in the media and publishing sectors.

Some freelancers are turning to new lending options like those offered by the partnership between embedded financing platform YouLend and work marketplace Upwork. The collaboration has already advanced over $1 million to American freelancers since its June 2025 launch. Specialist lenders are coming to market to fill a gap to serve the 20 million skilled professionals comprising the US freelance workforce, who collectively generated $1.5 trillion in earnings last year.

The cash flow crisis facing freelancers

Whilst YouLend and Upwork frame their partnership as bridging a “funding gap” for underserved microbusinesses, the reality confronting many freelancers is far more immediate: they’re often borrowing not for growth, but for survival.

Late payments remain one of the most persistent challenges in freelance work. Research indicates that over 40% of Americans struggle with various forms of debt repayment, a figure that disproportionately affects freelancers who manage their own finances while contending with irregular income streams. For freelance journalists and writers, the situation has become particularly acute in 2024, with numerous reporters taking to social media to publicly shame publications that have failed to pay for commissioned work.

“Every single payment has been a few weeks late, if not more,” explained one full-time freelance journalist who spoke anonymously about their experiences with a regular client. “This time they were telling me: ‘Oh it’ll be on the next payroll,’ and then the next payroll would come around and I wouldn’t be paid.”

The problem extends beyond simple delays. Many publications operate on “payment on publication” terms, meaning freelancers may wait months for compensation if editors sit on completed work. Worse still, when projects are cancelled, many freelancers receive nothing at all – the industry practice of “kill fees” (partial payment for spiked articles) is far from universal, and new guidelines from Women in Journalism are calling for payment in full even when articles are spiked.

Where does YouLend operate and who qualifies?

YouLend currently operates across the UK, European Union, and United States, with active services in multiple countries. The company has funded more than 350,000 businesses globally since its 2015 launch.

To qualify for YouLend financing through platforms like eBay or Amazon, businesses typically need a minimum monthly card transaction turnover of £1,500 (or equivalent), must have been trading for at least three to six months, and accept card payments through supported payment processors, such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Etsy, and Fiserv.

The platform offers funding from £3,000 up to £2,000,000 to all types of small and medium-sized businesses through revenue-based financing products. A fixed, small percentage of your daily sales is automatically taken, with no interest.

For the Upwork partnership specifically, eligible freelancers can apply through the platform directly, receiving offers within 24 hours and funding within 48 hours in many cases.

The double-edged sword of accessible credit

The YouLend-Upwork arrangement provides rapid access to capital that traditional banks routinely deny independent workers due to perceptions of irregular employment. The revenue-based repayment model – where borrowers repay through a fixed percentage of daily sales rather than fixed monthly instalments – offers genuine flexibility during lean months.

“The application process was straightforward and the funding itself has been instrumental in allowing us to expand our operations and hire new staff,” said Leticia Blanco, a New Jersey-based accounting professional who accessed financing through the partnership.

Yet financial experts caution that borrowing to cover operational gaps can quickly spiral into a debt trap, particularly for freelancers already struggling with cash flow management.

“Nothing makes you more desperate and less creative than money problems,” warned Natasha Khullar Relph, founder of The Wordling and writer mentor.

“When you’re worried about money, the creativity just flies right out of you and all you can think about is whether this project will pay the bills,” said Relph.

The systemic problems financing can’t fix

Whilst YouLend’s technology facilitates faster lending decisions based on a greater variety of inputs than traditional credit scores, the service ultimately treats symptoms rather than causes.

The real problems include:

Late payments becoming normalised: Some publications now routinely pay 30, 60, or even 90 days after invoice submission, forcing freelancers to essentially provide interest-free loans to their clients.

Absence of kill fees: When projects are cancelled after commissioning, freelancers who have already invested time and effort often receive nothing. New guidelines from Women in Journalism explicitly call for payment in full even when articles are spiked.

Payment on publication clauses: These terms mean freelancers have no control over when they’ll be compensated, as editors may sit on completed work indefinitely.

Limited recourse: Whilst some freelancers attempt to charge late fees (typically 1.5% monthly under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Act), many clients simply refuse to pay them. Taking legal action through small claims courts often proves impractical, particularly for cross-border arrangements.

Financial advisers stress that freelancers should ideally maintain emergency funds covering three to six months of living expenses precisely to weather these payment irregularities. However, building such reserves becomes impossible when one is already borrowing to cover current shortfalls.

A broader industry reckoning

YouLend’s embedded financing partnership model has already delivered nearly €2 million to hotels across Europe and the US through their collaboration with hospitality platform Mews, demonstrating the scalability of their approach across sectors.

The company’s financial backing is substantial: a private securitisation transaction with JPMorgan positions YouLend to extend more than £4 billion in additional revenue-based financing to SMEs.

Yet as embedded financing becomes more accessible, questions mount about whether platforms like Upwork should focus equally on enforcing payment terms and protecting freelancers from exploitative practices, rather than simply making credit more available.

“Freelancers are running businesses, not side projects, and access to capital is often what helps them take on bigger opportunities,” said Mohit Kumar, General Manager of Payments & Trust at Upwork.

However, critics argue that if freelancers need loans simply to bridge the gap whilst waiting for clients to honour existing payment obligations, the problem isn’t a shortage of capital – it’s a shortage of accountability.

Looking ahead

Following strong early adoption in the United States, YouLend and Upwork plan to expand their partnership to additional markets. For freelancers, this represents both opportunity and risk.

Used judiciously for genuine growth investments – purchasing equipment, hiring assistance, or taking on larger projects – embedded financing can indeed help microbusinesses scale. Used as a stopgap to survive payment delays and client defaults, it risks creating a cycle of debt that ultimately benefits lenders more than borrowers.

That is why freelancers should take several protective measures:

Insist on clear payment terms in all contracts, including late fee provisions
Maintain separate business and personal accounts;
Track all expenses meticulously; push for deposits or milestone payments rather than payment in full upon completion;
Build emergency reserves during profitable months

Freelancers should carefully consider whether borrowing addresses a genuine business opportunity or merely papers over systemic problems in how the industry treats independent workers.

The YouLend-Upwork partnership may make capital more accessible, but it cannot substitute for the fundamental reform needed to ensure freelancers are paid fairly, promptly, and in full for work delivered.

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