Patent Publication Number: US-2015081518-A1

Title: Systems and methods for automated wage assignments

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/880,119 filed Sep. 19, 2013, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to computers and computer-related technology. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for automated wage assignments and reducing lending risk based on wage assignments. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Computing technology continues to advance rapidly. Indeed, computers are involved in many aspects of a person&#39;s everyday activities. Commonly used computers include everything from hand-held computing devices to large multi-processor computer systems. 
     Computers are used in almost all aspects of business, industry, and academic endeavors. More and more homes are also using computers. The pervasiveness of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet. On a computer network, one or more servers may provide data, services, and/or may be responsible for managing other computers. A computer network may include hundreds or even thousands of computers. 
     Most companies have one or more computer networks and also make extensive use of the Internet. The productivity of employees often depends upon human computer interaction. Improvements in computers and software have been a force for bringing about great increases in business and industrial productivity especially in the financial lending environment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of a system for employing automated wage assignments; 
         FIG. 2  is a call-flow diagram illustrating a configuration for employing automated wage assignments; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a system for employing automated wage assignments; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for creating a wage assignment on an electronic device; 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for receiving a wage assignment request on an electronic device; 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for recording data in association with a wage assignment agreement on an electronic device; 
         FIG. 7  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for employing automated wage assignments on an electronic device; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for associating a borrower with employers; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for assessing lead information using wage assignments; and 
         FIG. 10  illustrates various components that may be utilized in an administrative system and/or client. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Lending companies, such as microlenders, continually weigh and analyze data to calculate lending risk. In microlending, lending risk is high because loans are issued with little or no collateral and, as a result, such loans typically involve high interest rates. In such environments, determining which borrowers (e.g., customers, consumers, or debtors) are less of a financial risk can be difficult. Even the best analytical data sourcing and methodologies cannot always predict which borrowers will default on a loan. In many instances, it is not a question of if the borrowers will default on a loan, but when. 
     Accordingly, the systems and methods disclosed herein allow for employing automated wage assignments and reducing lending risk in such environments. Lending may include microlending cash to a borrower and/or extending services and memberships. For example, a health club may extend membership on credit. In some cases, the system and methods disclosed herein allow a collateral based lending company to obtain repayment for a loan before attempting to sell the collateral, or repossess the collateral from the borrower, if it is in the borrower&#39;s possession. For example, a car salesman generally prefers to be repaid for a sold car rather than incurring the costs and risks of repossessing the car. 
     A wage assignment is a legal instrument that allows a borrower to voluntarily assign or transfer payment from the borrower&#39;s future paycheck to a lending agent. A wage assignment is not a garnishment, in which a creditor obtains an order from a court to collect part of the borrower&#39;s wages from the borrower&#39;s employer. Wage assignments may be governed by statutes in most states, or by federal law. 
     By employing the system and methods described herein, a borrower&#39;s risk can be assessed without the need to check the borrower&#39;s credit score or inquire into the borrower&#39;s financial history. Thus, by employing a wage assignment agreement, a loan issued to a customer may be collateralized. For example, the borrower&#39;s employer may be able to repay the loan from the borrower&#39;s earnings through the use of a wage assignment, thereby avoiding a formal garnishment process and/or other costly legal proceedings. Further, the system and methods may help reduce lending risk in a financial environment by allowing lenders to obtain more accurate risk assessments when lending to customers. 
     Various configurations of the systems and methods are now described with reference to the figures, where like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The configurations of the present systems and methods, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of several configurations, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the systems and methods as claimed, but is merely representative of the various configurations of the systems and methods. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of a system  100  for employing automated wage assignments. The system  100  may include one or more clients  102 , one or more servers  114 , and a network  110 . Examples of the client  102  and/or server  114  include desktop computers, laptop computers, supercomputers, smartphones, tablet devices, game consoles, e-readers, and/or other devices that include memory, a processor, and a communications interface. 
     The server  114  may include a wage assignment API application  116 , an entity database  118 , and a communication interface  120 . The server  114  may be located on a single device or part of a system composed of multiple servers. In some configurations, the wage assignment API application  116  may be a module. As used herein, a “module” may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. For example, the wage assignment API application  116  may be a wage assignment API application module that is implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
     The wage assignment API application  116  on the server  114  may receive communications from the client  102  such as requests, pings, inquiries, and/or calls. For example, the wage assignment API application  116  may receive an application programming interface (API) call from the client  102 . 
     The wage assignment API application  116  may be in communication with the entity database  118  when processing communications from the client  102 . For example, in response to a communication from the client  102 , the wage assignment API application  116  may access, create, verify, process, query, combine, update, and/or remove records to/from the entity database  118 . It should be noted that the terms wage assignment, wage agreement, and wage assignment agreement may be used interchangeably herein. 
     The entity database  118  may include entries and/or records of entities and/or employers. While the terms “entity” and “employer” are often used interchangeable herein, an employer is one example of an entity. Other examples of entities may include a person, a corporation, a cooperative, a partnership, etc. Further, as used herein, the term “borrower” may refer to a customer, consumer, debtor, or any other person or unit seeking a loan. The term “lending agent” may refer to a lender, microlender, loan officer, credit agent, or other individual issuing a loan to a borrower. 
     In some configurations, a unique key identifier may identify each record in the entity database  118 . Each record may be associated with an entity and may indicate if a wage assignment compliance request has been sent to the entity. Further, each record may indicate whether the entity has responded along with the entity&#39;s response, such as if the entity indicated compliance or non-compliance. For example, a record in the employer database  118  may indicate that an employer has responded positively and/or has previous honored a wage assignment agreement. As another example, a record may indicate that an employer has specified that they will not honor a wage assignment agreement and/or has refused to honor a previous wage assignment agreement. In this case, the record may indicate that a court order is required before collecting a borrower&#39;s wages from the employer. Thus, the record may indicate the wage assignment compliance level of the entity. 
     Multiple borrowers may share a common entity or employer. Therefore, once an entity&#39;s information is in the entity database  118 , a client  102  may quickly ascertain whether an entity is in the entity database  118  and whether the entity will comply or honor a wage assignment agreement. 
     If the entity will honor a wage assignment agreement, then the lending agent is able to collateralize a loan issued to a borrower, thereby reducing lending risk. In this manner, a lending agent is better able to serve potential borrowers without performing a credit check or performing other types of credit history verification. 
     In some configurations, as described below, the wage assignment compliance level of an entity may be inferred based on the wage assignment compliance level of related entities. For example, an entity may be inferred to have the same wage assignment compliance level as its related parent entity. Further detail regarding inferring wage assignment compliance levels is described below in connection with  FIG. 9 . 
     The communication interface  120  may connect the server  114  to the network  110 . For example, the network  110  may be a local area network (LAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), municipal area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, plain old telephone service (POTS), etc. 
     One or more clients  102  may be connected to the server  114  via the network  110 . The client  102  may be owned and/or operated by the same entity that owns and/or operates the server  114 . In some cases, a third party may operate the client  102 . In some configurations, the server  114  and the client  102  may be connected using a secure connection via the network  110 . In another configuration, the server  114  and the client  102  may communicate via a direct connection. In other configurations, the server  114  and the client  102  may be combined together into a device without the need of the network  110 . 
     Each client  102  may include a wage assignment agent  104 , a customer database  106  or borrower database, and a communication interface  108 . The wage assignment agent  104  may be software installed on the client  102 . In some configurations, the wage assignment agent  102  may include one or more agent modules. The wage assignment agent  104  may make API calls to the server  114 . For example, the wage assignment agent  104  may make API calls to the wage assignment API application  116  located on the server  114 . 
     In some configurations, the wage assignment agent  104  may include various applications loaded on the client  102 . Each agent application may enable an area of functionality that is implemented by the one or more applications. 
     The wage assignment agent  104  may assist a user to create wage assignment agreements. A user may be a lending agent, loan officer, credit agent, etc., or other person who operates the client  102 . The wage assignment agent  104  may also assist a user in sending requests to the server  114  to inquire if a borrower&#39;s entity or employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement. Additional detail regarding creating wage assignment agreements and sending requests to the server  114  will be discussed below in connection with  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     The customer database  106  may include records or entries of borrowers (e.g., customers). A borrower&#39;s record may include biographical data, contact information, address information, loan information, etc. The borrower&#39;s record may also include the borrower&#39;s employer along with corresponding employment information. Further, the borrower&#39;s record may include wage assignment agreements the borrower may have made. The customer database  106  may also include potential leads and lead information. 
     The communication interface  108  may be similar to the communication interface  120  described above. For example, the communication interface  108  may be employed to send and receive communications over the network  110  to and from the server  114 , or other electronic devices. 
     The system and methods described herein enable for risk to be reduced when lending credit to borrowers because the credit loan is secured with the collateral of a wage assignment agreement. Further, legal costs of collecting on loan payments are reduced because lending agents and collectors do not need to track down borrowers for payment. In addition, accounts of borrowers in default do not need to be sold off or otherwise transferred to collection agencies. Rather, the borrower&#39;s employer can pay the debt owed from the borrower&#39;s future paychecks. 
       FIG. 2  is a call-flow diagram illustrating a configuration for employing automated wage assignments. The configuration may include a borrower  212 , a lender  202 , an employer verifier  214 , and an employer  222 . 
     The borrower  212  may be a customer seeking to obtain a loan or credit from the lender  202 . The borrower  212  may be an employee of the employer  222 . The borrower  212  may also be a lead. Leads will be discussed below in connection with  FIG. 9 . 
     The lender  202  may be one configuration of the client  102  discussed in connection with  FIG. 1 . The lender  202  may be an electronic device operated by a sub-prime money-lending agent, such as a payday lender. In some instances, the lender  202  may be operated by an issuer of memberships, such as a golf course, athletic or other type club, fitness center, etc. The lender  202  may also be used in association with a rent-to-own merchant, car dealership, installment loan agency, or any other type of credit lender that provides credit, loans, or services to borrowers, particularly in the sub-prime markets. 
     The employer verifier  214  may be one configuration of the server  114  discussed in connection with  FIG. 1  above. For example, the employer verifier  214  may store and recall records indicating the wage assignment compliance level of a specific employer or entity. 
     The employer  222  may be an entity, as discussed above, and may employ a number of employees. In some configurations, one employee of the employer may be the borrower  212 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the borrower  212  may request  230  a loan from the lender  202 . For example, the borrower  212  may contact the lender  202  and request a loan. In some instances, the borrower  212  may be contacted by the lender  202  regarding a loan after the borrower  212  has expressed an interest in obtaining a loan. For example, the borrower  212  may fill out a loan application online (e.g., through a website, via email, etc.) and the lender  202  may respond to the loan application. As another example, the borrower  212  may physically enter into a payday lender establishment associated with the lender  202  to obtain a loan. 
     Upon establishing communication with the borrower  212 , the lender  202  may obtain information about the borrower, such as biographical information, personal information, financial information, employment information, etc. If the borrower  212  is employed, the borrower  212  may be able to obtain a loan without being subject to traditional credit checks, or the borrower  212  may be able to obtain a loan even if the borrower&#39;s credit score is sub-par. 
     Using the borrower&#39;s employment information, the lender  202  may ping  232  the employer verifier  214  to determine the wage assignment compliance level of the borrower&#39;s employer  222 . In other words, the lender  202  may request the wage assignment compliance level of the employer  222  from the employer verifier  214 . 
     The employer verifier  214  may determine  234  the wage assignment compliance level for the borrower&#39;s employer. The employer verifier  214  may recall this data from an entity database  118 , or may request the wage assignment compliance level from the employer  222  if such information is not stored in the entity database  118 . In some configurations, if no information regarding the employer  222  is stored in the entity database  118 , the employer verifier  214  may respond that no record exists. The employer verifier  214  may also record the number of times the wage assignment compliance level for that employer  222  has been requested. If the employer number of requests meets or exceeds a threshold, the employer verifier  214  may contact the employer  222  to determine the wage assignment compliance level of the employer  222 . 
     The employer verifier  214  may respond  236  to the ping request with the wage assignment compliance level of the employer  222 . The wage assignment compliance level may specify if the employer  222  is compliant or non-compliant with respect to wage assignment agreements. In some instances, the wage assignment compliance level may verify that the employer  222  has previously repaid a borrower&#39;s debt by honoring a previous wage assignment agreement. In other cases, the wage assignment compliance level may specify the probability (e.g., confidence level) or a probability range that the employer  222  will honor and apply the wage assignment. 
     The lender  202  may determine  238  whether to issue a loan or extend credit based on the received wage assignment compliance level. For example, if the wage assignment compliance level specifies that the employer  222  has previously honored wage assignments by repaying other lenders, the lender  202  may decide to issue a loan to the borrower  212 . The wage assignment compliance level may also factor into the amount of a loan to issue to the borrower  212 . Alternatively, the lender  202  may not issue a loan to the borrower  212  based on the received wage assignment compliance level. In this case, the lender  202  may determine to issue a loan to the borrower  212  based on traditional factors, such as the borrower&#39;s credit score. For example, the electronic device may indicate to the lender  202  to perform a credit inquiry or other background investigation of the borrower  212 . A credit inquiry may include the financial history of the borrower  212 , such as the borrower&#39;s payments of previous bills, if the borrower  212  owns or rents their residence, etc. 
     Before issuing a loan, the lender  202  may obtain  240  a signed wage assignment from the borrower  212 . The lender  202  may store the signed wage assignment in the customer database  106 . For example, the wage assignment may be uploaded as a PDF (portable document format) file and stored by the lender  202 . As another example, the wage assignment may be uploaded as an HTML form submission that is stored by the lender  202 . As a further example, the wage assignment may be submitted using a Java applet, Java servlet, or similar technology. After receiving and storing the signed wage assignment, the lender  202  may issue  242  a loan to the borrower  212 . For example, 
     The borrower  212  may subsequently default  244  on the loan. The lender  202  may receive  246  a notice of the default. For example, the borrower  212  may inform the lender  202  of the default, or the borrower  212  may fail to meet a payment deadline. 
     The lender  202  may recall the wage assignment, for example, from the customer database  106 . The lender  202  may send  248  the wage assignment to the employer verifier  214 . The employer verifier  214  may contact  250  the employer  222  with the wage assignment agreement. For example, the employer verifier  214  may send an electronic message such as a fax, email, text message, or combination thereof, to the employer  222 . In some configurations, the wage assignment API application may send a document package to the employer  222  directly, or via a third party. For instance, the employer verifier  214  may send the document package to the third party via email. Then, the third party may fax the document package to the employer  222 . In this configuration, additional software configuration may be required. 
     The document package may include documents such as a confidentiality notice, a wage assignment demand notice, a calculation worksheet, employment confirmation, the signed and executed wage assignment agreement of the borrower  212 , etc. The document package may also include the lender&#39;s  202  address information or other contact information where the employer  222  can send a check or payment to the lender  202 . 
     The wage demand notice may inform the employer  222  that the borrower  212  owes a debt to lender  202 , the total amount of debt under the loan agreement, when the employer  222  is to deduct wages from the borrower  212 , that the borrower  212  has received prior notice of the wage assignment demand being served to the employer  222 , etc. 
     The calculation worksheet may provide guidelines for deducting wages from the borrower&#39;s  212  wages. For example, the calculation worksheet may instruct the employer  222  to deduct the lesser of (a) 15% of the borrower&#39;s disposable pay (not to exceed 15%) or (b) 25% of the borrower&#39;s disposable pay, less the amounts withheld under the withholding with priority. Additionally and/or alternatively, the calculation worksheet may provide a link to the employer  222  that automatically calculates the deduction amount for the employer  222  or otherwise provides further guidelines and information to the employer  222  regarding how to process the wage assignment. 
     The employment confirmation may be used to verify that the borrower  222  is a current employee. If the borrower  222  is no longer a current employee of the employer  222 , the employer  222  may provide the borrower&#39;s last known contact information to the lender  202 . 
     In response to receiving the wage assignment agreement, the employer  222  may apply  252  the wage assignment. For example, the employer  222  may deduct the owed amount from the borrower&#39;s paycheck. Alternatively, the employer  222  may deduct a portion of the owed amount up to a legal limit or deduct a portion of the owed amount as specified by the wage assignment agreement. In some instances, the employer  222  may deduct a portion of the owed amount from more than one of the borrower&#39;s paychecks. 
     The employer verifier  214  may receive  254  payment from the employer  222 . Upon receiving payment, the employer verifier  214  may deduct  256  an amount from the received payment. The amount deducted from the received payment may be a percentage, flat rate, or fee agreed upon by the employer verifier  214  and the lender  202  for collecting the payment from the employer  222 . The employer verifier  214  may then pay  258  the remainder of the payment to the lender  202 . At this point, the lender  202  may closeout  260  the loan with the borrower  212 . In some instances, for example, if the full amount of the owed amount is not repaid, the lender  202  may reduce the balance of the borrower&#39;s loan by the amount received from the employer verifier  214 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates one approach in which automated wage assignments may be employed. Additional approaches described below may be employed in conjunction with or in addition to the approach disclosed in connection with  FIG. 2 . 
     By employing the systems and methods disclosed herein, a user, such as a lending agent, may collateralize loans that are traditionally not collateralized. Further, the lending agent may achieve a higher repayment percentage from borrowers, thereby further reducing lending risk. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a system  300  for employing automated wage assignments. In this configuration, the system  300  may include a lender  302 , an employer verifier  314 , a call center  332 , an employer  322 , and a network like the Internet  310 . 
     The lender  302  may include a wage assignment API agent  304 , a borrower database  306 , a communication interface  308 , and a leads agent  328 . The lender  302  may be one configuration of the client  102  described above in connection with  FIG. 1  and/or the lender  202  described in connection with  FIG. 2 . For example, the wage assignment API agent  304 , borrower database  306 , and communication interface  308  may be example configurations of the wage assignment agent  104 , customer database  106 , and communication interface  108 , respectively. 
     In addition, the wage assignment API agent  304  may assist the lender  302  by making API calls and requests to the employer verifier  314 . For example, the wage assignment API agent  304  may make one or more of the following API calls: employer inquiry, borrower or consumer add, borrower or consumer update, borrower or consumer view, loan add, loan update, loan view, report payment, payments view, document upload, or revoke wage assignment. The wage assignment API agent  304  may also use credentials to authenticate with the employer verifier  314  before API calls can be made. For example, the wage assignment API agent  304  may provide a lender identifier, username, and password to the employer verifier  314 . 
     The wage assignment API agent  304  may also assist the lender  302  in creating, processing, and revoking wage assignment agreements. For example, the wage assignment API agent  304  may populate a wage assignment template with the borrower&#39;s information. Further the wage assignment API may communicate with the borrower database  306 , which may store and recall a wage assignment agreement  338  signed by the borrower. The borrower database  306  may also record borrower information, such as biographical, personal, contact, financial, and/or employment information. 
     The lender  302  also includes a leads agent  328 . A lead may indicate or represent a potential borrower that may qualify for a loan if certain criteria are satisfied. The leads agent  328  may include a bidding module  330 . The leads agent  328  may communicate with the employer verifier  314  to identify which leads are promising candidates to extend loans to based on the wage assignment compliance level of their employers. Additional information regarding leads and bidding is described below in connection with  FIG. 9 . 
     The employer verifier  314  may include a wage assignment API application  316 , an employer database  318 , a communication interface  320 , a leads application  360 , and a borrower records database  364 . The employer verifier  314  may be one configuration of the server  114  described above in connection with  FIG. 1  and/or the employer verifier  214  described in connection with  FIG. 2 . For example, the wage assignment API application  316 , employer database  318 , and communication interface  320  may be exemplary configurations of the wage assignment API application  116 , entity database  118 , and communication interface  120 , respectively. 
     Further, while illustrated on a single device, the employer verifier  314  may be divided up among a number of devices. For example, the lead application  360 , the wage assignment API application  316 , the employer database  318 , and/or the borrower records database  364  may each be located on a separate electronic device. As another example, the borrower records database  364  may be located across multiple electronic devices. 
     The wage assignment API application  316  may assist the employer verifier  314  in communicating with the lender  302 . For example, the wage assignment API application  316  may process requests from the wage assignment API agent  304  on the lender  302 . For example, the wage assignment API application  316  may receive a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) form post from the wage assignment API agent  304 . The HTTP posts may be sent securely, for example, using the secure socket layer (SSL) protocol. In some configurations, the wage assignment API application  316  may not process any requests that are not transmitted securely. 
     The wage assignment API application  316  may process the request and return a result. The returned result may include an inquiry number or inquiry identifier and a customer identifier for the lender  302  to store in connection with the request and reply. The result may be returned in a JavaScript object notation (JSON) format. Alternatively, the result may be returned in other formats, and/or through the use of any appropriate programming language, such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, PHP, etc. In some configurations, requests may be sent in a URL call sent to the wage assignment API application  316 . 
     The wage assignment API application  316  may also assist in communicating with entities and employers  322 . In communicating with entities, the employer verifier  314  may obtain the wage assignment compliance level for each entity and employer  322 . For example, the wage assignment API application  316  may, via the communication interface  320 , send an electronic message, facsimile, email, etc. to an employer  322 . Examples of the electronic message include a document package that includes a signed wage assignment of a borrower. 
     The wage assignment API application  316  may communicate with the employer database  318 . The employer database  318  may include one or more employer records  344 . Each employer record  344  may include the employer&#39;s name  346 , identification number  348 , address  350 , phone number  352 , phonetic name  354 , wage assignment compliance level  356 , and relationship to other employers  358 . Other entries and/or information may also be stored in association with each employer  322  such as electronic addresses, facsimile numbers, contact representatives, notes, etc. For example, the name, phone number, and email address of the human resources or payroll representative of the employer may be included in the employer record  344 . 
     The employer&#39;s name  346  may be the name of employer. The name  346  may be the legal name of the employer  322  or a commonly known name. The name  346  may be linked to the phonetic name  354 . The phonetic name  354  may be a phonetic spelling of the employer&#39;s name. Using a phonetic name  354  may compensate for errors, such a spelling errors, entered by the borrower and/or the lender  302 . In addition, pattern matching or voice recognition technology may compare the phonetic names to the text names, in order to deduplicate employer records and/or prevent incorrect employer records. 
     In employer phonetic names  354 , the name of the employer provided by a borrower or lender  302  may be converted into a phonetic name  354  by using a text-to-speech application to provide a voice pronunciation. The voice pronunciation may then be converted into a phonetic name  354  and stored in the employer record  354 . In addition to compensating for spelling or other errors in an employer&#39;s name, uncommonly named entities, entities with symbols or designs in their name, etc., can be accurately entered into the employer&#39;s database  318 . Furthermore, incorrect duplication of an employer&#39;s name is reduced by ensuring that the employer  322  of two different borrowers is identified as the same employer  322 , even though the two borrowers may have spelled their employer&#39;s name differently. 
     The identification number  348 , for example, may be an employer identification number (EIN). Additionally, the employer database  318  may assign a unique identification number to each employer. The address may be a postal address and/or electronic address, such as an email address. The address may include multiple addresses. For example, the address  350  may identify the address of the physical establishment where the borrower works and the address of the corporate offices where the human resources or payroll department of the employer is located. The phone number  352  may be a phone number, a fax number, and/or an extension number. Preferably, the phone number  352  may be the number of the establishment where the borrower is employed. In this manner, the phone number  352 , or a portion thereof, such as the last four digits, may be one of the identifying attributes used to quickly identify an employer  322  in the employer database  318  when querying an employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level  356 . 
     The wage assignment compliance level  356  may specify whether an employer  322  has indicated that they will comply or not comply with a wage assignment agreement. The wage assignment compliance level  356  may specify that an employer  322  has not yet been contacted or that the employer  322  has been contacted but has not yet replied. Various other wage assignment compliance level  356  possibilities are discussed below in greater detail. 
     The relationship to other employers  358  may indicate whether two employers in the employer database  318  are related. For example, the relationship may be a parent entity (e.g., parent corporation) and a child entity (e.g., subsidiary corporation). As another example, two employers may be sibling entities commonly owned, in whole or in part, under the same parent. By indicating the relationship between a first employer and other employers, inferences regarding the first employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level may be determined based on the known wage assignment compliance levels of one or more of the other employers. 
     The employer verifier  314  may include a lead application  360 . The lead application  360  may employ a lead scoring module  362 . The lead application  360  and the lead scoring module  362  may assist the employer verifier  314  in scoring a lead. In some configurations, the lead may receive a high or positive score if the lead has an employer  322  with a favorable wage assignment compliance level  356 . The lead may receive a neutral score if the lead does not have an employer in the employer database  318 . The lead may receive a negative or low score if the lead&#39;s employer has indicated that they will not honor or otherwise apply a wage assignment agreement. 
     The employer verifier  314  may also include a borrower records database  364 . The borrower records database  364  may include information associated with a borrower along with the borrower&#39;s signed wage assignment  366 . For example, the borrower records database  364  may include a unique borrower identifier along with the borrower&#39;s name, social security number, date of birth, address, email, contact information, phone number, employer, job title, etc. It may also include a copy of a signed wage assignment agreement from the lender  302 . In this manner, when the employer verifier  314  is required to contact an employer to enforce a wage assignment agreement, the employer verifier  314  may provide a copy of the signed wage assignment  366  to the employer  322 . 
     The information in the borrower records database  364  may be updated as new information from the lender  302  is received at the employer verifier  314 . In addition, the borrower information may be returned to the lender  302  upon request for the lender  302 . 
     In some configurations, the employer verifier  314  may receive loan information from a lender  302 . For example, this may occur when the lender  302  issues a loan to a borrower. The received loan information may be stored in the borrower records database  364 . For example, the loan information may include a loan number, a principal amount, balance, an interest amount, a fee amount, an e-signature name, an e-signature internet protocol (IP) address, an e-signature date/time, and/or the status of the loan, such as the current loan balance or if the loan is current, paid, written-off, in bankruptcy, or inactive. The loan status may also indicate to the employer verifier  314  to initiate the wage assignment process of collecting the borrower&#39;s debt from the borrower&#39;s employer  322 . 
     Information associated with the borrower&#39;s loan may also be updated upon receiving updates from the lender  302 . In addition, information associated with the borrower&#39;s loan may be reported to the lender  302  upon request. 
     The system may also include a call center  332  and one or more employers  322 . The call center  332  may include a calling application  334  and a communication interface  336 . In some configurations, the calling application  334  may make automated calls, emails, and/or faxes to entities. For example, the calling application  334  may call to inquire regarding an employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level. As another example, the calling application  334  may call to notify an employer  322  that a wage assignment agreement is being enforced against a specific borrower. In another configuration, the calling application  334  may provide assistance to an operator who is communicating with an employer  322 . For example, the calling application  334  may provide scripts and/or step-by-step instructions for the operator to follow in discussing wage assignments with employers  322 . The communication interface  336  may operate similar to other communication interfaces described herein. 
     The employer  322  may be associated with the employer described in connection with  FIG. 2 . The employer  322  may be the employer of the borrower. The employer  322  may include employer information  340  and a communication interface  342 , which may operate similar to other communication interfaces described herein. The employer information  340  represents information associated with the employer that may be recorded in a corresponding employer record  344  in the employer database  318  located on the employer verifier  314 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  400  for creating a wage assignment on an electronic device. In some configurations, the electronic device may be the client  102  described in connection with  FIG. 1 , or the lender  302  described in connection with  FIG. 3  above. 
     The electronic device may provide  402  a wage assignment agreement template. For example, the electronic device may present the wage assignment agreement template to a user, such as a lending agent, to create a borrower-specific wage assignment agreement. The wage assignment agreement template may be, for example, a webpage, web application, pdf, word document, mobile device application, computer kiosk application, etc. The wage assignment agreement template may also be drafted to accord with applicable law governing wage assignment agreements, as described above. For example, the wage assignment agreement template may specify that the wage assignment agreement is voluntary. 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may prompt  404  for borrower information to complete the wage assignment agreement template. In addition, the electronic device may verify that the borrower has been informed and understands the wage assignment agreement (e.g., the borrower understands that the wage assignment is voluntary). Further, the electronic device may receive verification that the borrower is not a government employee, including a member of the military. 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may store the borrower information in a borrower database  306 . For instances, the borrower information, or portions thereof, may already be stored in the borrower database  306 . As a result, the electronic device may store, retrieve, and/or update the borrower&#39;s record in the borrower database  306 . 
     The electronic device may generate  406  a wage assignment agreement  338 . The wage assignment agreement  338  may be generated from the wage assignment agreement template. In generating the wage assignment agreement, the electronic device may determine that applicable state and local laws are complied with. In general, wage assignment agreements may be subject to federal law where the wage assignment agreements must comply with rules and regulations issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In some instances, the wage assignment agreement must comply with federal law as well as one or more state laws. The electronic device may receive input, for example from a user, as to which laws apply. Additionally, the electronic device may automatically look up and apply applicable laws when generating a wage assignment agreement template. 
     In determining if all applicable state and local laws are complied with, the electronic device may verify and/or receive verification regarding a number of requirements, for example, by presenting a checklist to a user, or performing a verification check. In some instances, the electronic device may verify that the wage assignment agreement clearly and inconspicuously states that it is voluntary. For instance, the wage assignment may be required to clearly state: “VOLUNTARY WAGE ASSIGNMENT.” Another requirement may be to specify that the wage assignment agreement is revocable at any time by the borrower, such as reading, “THIS WAGE ASSIGNMENT IS REVOCABLE AT WILL,” and/or titling the document “REVOCABLE WAGE ASSIGNMENT.” In addition, the electronic device may verify that revocation information is included in the wage assignment agreement when the wage assignment agreement is generated. 
     The electronic device may receive  408  a signed wage assignment agreement  338  from the borrower. After the borrower has read and understood the wage assignment agreement, the borrower may sign the wage assignment agreement  338 . The signature may be an electronic signature or another type of signature. 
     In receiving  408  the signed wage assignment agreement document for the borrower, the electronic device may again verify that the wage assignment agreement  335  is separate from other documents signed by the borrower. This ensures that the borrower is aware of the terms of the wage assignment agreement  338  and that the wage assignment is a separate agreement. The electronic device may also verify that wage assignment agreement  338  clearly states that the wage assignment agreement is not a garnishment, judgment, or anything other than a revocable wage assignment, that the wage assignment agreement  338  is independent and separate from all other documents presented to the borrower, and/or that other requirements are complied with. Signing the wage assignment agreement may be a condition for the borrower to receive a loan. 
     The electronic device may store  410  the signed wage assignment agreement  338  in a database, such as a customer database  106 , a separate wage assignment agreement database, and/or stored on a server  114  or other non-transitory computer readable media. The wage agreement  338  may be stored as a PDF or in another electronic format. 
     The electronic device may record  412  that the borrower was issued a loan. This may include information associated with the loan, terms of the loan, payment date(s), etc. This information may be recorded on the electronic device in a database, such as the customer database  106 . 
     If the borrower enters into default, the electronic device may receive  414  notification of the borrower&#39;s default. Default may occur if the borrower violates one or more conditions of the loan, such as missing a payment. In some cases, the borrower may notify a lending agent that he or she will fail to make a payment or otherwise intends not to honor the loan. In other cases, the electronic device receives  414  notification when it detects that a payment has been missed. 
     In the event of the borrower&#39;s default, the electronic device may determine  416  if the signed wage assignment agreement  338  is stored in the database and if the wage assignment agreement is still valid. In some cases, the borrower may have revoked the voluntary wage assignment agreement. Here, the wage assignment agreement  338  may be removed from the database or an indication of the revocation may present. For example, the client  102  may notify the server  114  of the revocation via an API call. 
     If the wage assignment agreement  338  is not stored in the database or is not valid, the electronic device may attempt to obtain  418  the debt owed by the borrower through traditional means. For example, the lending agent may attempt to directly collect the debt from the borrower, employ a collection agency to collect the debt, or commence a garnishment or other legal action to collect the debt. 
     The electronic device may notify  420  the server  114  that the borrower has defaulted. In conjunction with the notification, the electronic device may send the wage assignment agreement to the server  114 . For example the electronic device may retrieve the stored wage assignment agreement  338  from the borrower database  306  and transmit a copy to the server  114 . 
     The electronic device may receive  422  payment for the debt. The payment may be made, for example, from the borrower, the employer, and or from the server  114  that collected the debt from the employer via the wage assignment agreement. The payment may be a full or partial payment of the balance of the debt owed by the borrower. 
     In some configurations, payment information may be reported to the server  114  wage assignment agreement API application  116 . For example, a client  102  may report the payment amount, date, method, type, etc. in connection with the loan number and/or borrower information. Additionally, once payment information is reported, inquiries may be made to the server  114  regarding the balance and repayment state of an open account or loan. 
     Upon full payment of the loan, the electronic device may close  424  the debt. The electronic device may also update the record associated with the loan stored in the database. For example, the electronic device may update the records associated with the borrower in the borrower database  306 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  500  for receiving a wage assignment request on an electronic device. In some configurations, the electronic device may be the server  114  described in connection with  FIG. 1  or the employer verifier  314  described in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
     The electronic device may receive  502  a request for information regarding an employer. The request may be sent by another electronic device, such as a client  102  or a lender  302 . For example, the client  102  may request information regarding the wage assignment compliance level of the employer. The client  102  may use this information to determine whether to issue credit or make a loan to a potential borrower. In some configurations, communications between the electronic device and the client  102  may be encrypted. 
     The electronic device may obtain  504  employer information from the request. For example, the electronic device may parse the request to extract various pieces of information, such as the employer&#39;s name, identification number, address, phone number, notes, email address, etc. Additional pieces of information may include secondary phone numbers, the employer&#39;s human resources, or payroll department contact information, etc. In some configurations, the electronic device may reject the request if it cannot obtain a minimum amount of employer information. 
     The electronic device may determine  506  if the employer is located in a database. For example, the database may be an entity database  118  located on the server  114 . The electronic device may use information obtained from the request to identify the employer. In some configurations, the electronic device may only need to identify one unique characteristic of the employer from the request. For example, the electronic device may identify the 10-digit phone number  352  of the employer from the request and may lookup the employer record  344  based on the phone number  352 , or a portion thereof (e.g., the last seven or four digits). As another example, the electronic device may attempt to identify the employer based on multiple potentially unique characteristics, such as EIN, phone number, address, etc. The electronic device may perform the identification of the employer based on potentially unique characteristics in parallel or serially. For instance, the electronic device may match a threshold number of digits in the employer&#39;s phone number until a potentially unique match is identified. The threshold number may be increased based on a determined assurance percentage or identification accuracy metric, for instance, until there is only a single match. 
     In some configurations, if the employer is not in the database, the electronic device may contact  508  the employer with a wage assignment agreement request. For example, the electronic device may notify a call center  332  to contact the employer with a wage assignment agreement request regarding the employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level. As another example, the electronic device may send an email to the employer with a wage assignment agreement request. 
     The electronic device may receive  510  a reply from the employer. The reply may indicate the employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level. For example, the reply may indicate that the employer will, or will not comply with a wage assignment agreement. As another example, the reply may indicate that the request is pending or that compliance is not possible, for example because the law does not permit it. The reply may be in the same form or a different form as the employer was contacted by the electronic device. The electronic device may add  512  the employer record to the database. 
     In one configuration, if a period of time has elapsed without receiving a reply to the wage assignment agreement request, the electronic device may indicate that the employer has been contacted but has not responded. In some configurations, the employer database may be maintained upon attempts to establish one or more wage assignments with one or more employers. For example, the electronic device may record in the database the number of past contact attempts extended to the employer. 
     At any time, the server may update, modify, remove, etc., the entry in the employer database  318  based on information obtained about the employer associated with the employer record  344 . 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may optionally send  514  a response to the client  102  indicating that the employer is unresponsive and/or that the employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level is unknown. 
     If the employer is located in the database, for example, in an employer record  344 , the electronic device may determine  516  if the employer will honor and comply with a wage assignment agreement. If the employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement, the electronic device may send  518  a response to the client indicating the employer&#39;s compliance. If the employer will not comply with a wage assignment agreement, the electronic device may respond  522  to the client indicating that the employer will not comply with a wage assignment agreement. 
     In the case that employer record  344  does not indicate a wage assignment compliance level for an employer, the electronic device may send  520  a response to the client indicating that no record of the wage assignment compliance level is available and/or that other risk assessment procedures may be required. Additionally, the electronic device may optionally attempt to re-contact  524  the employer to obtain a response from the employer regarding their wage assignment compliance level. Upon receiving a response from the employer, the electronic device may again determine  516  whether the employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement. Alternatively, in some configurations, if the employer has not responded after a pre-determined time or number of attempts, the electronic device may characterize the employer as non-compliant. 
       FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  600  for recording data in association with a wage assignment agreement on an electronic device. The electronic device may be the server  114  described in connection with  FIG. 1  or the employer verifier  314  described in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
     The electronic device may request  602  wage assignment compliance information from an employer. For example, the electronic device may prepare and/or send a message to the employer. The message may be a letter, facsimile, electronic message, etc. In some configurations, the electronic device may send a notification to a call center  332  to contact the employer to determine the employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level. 
     The electronic device may obtain  604  a response associated with the wage assignment compliance request. The response may indicate the wage assignment compliance level of the employer. For example, the response may indicate that the employer will honor a wage assignment agreement. Alternatively, the response may indicate that the employer will not honor a wage assignment agreement made by one of its employees (e.g., a borrower). 
     The electronic device may store  606  the response associated with the wage assignment compliance request in a database. For example, the electronic device may store the response in an employer database  318 . 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may determine  608  the relationship between the employer and other employers in the database. The electronic device may determine that two employers in the database are owned by the same entity, part of the same franchise, have a similar parent, etc. For example, a borrower may work at a specific fast-food restaurant that is part of a nationwide chain. The database may include records for other locations that are also part of the same nationwide chain. Each record may specify if the location is independently owned and operated or if the parent corporation operates the location. In this manner, the electronic device may determine  608  that two employers are related because they are owned and operated by the same parent entity. 
     The electronic device may infer  610  a wage assignment compliance level of a first employer based on the wage assignment compliance level of a related employer. The electronic device may infer  610  that the first employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement based on one or more sibling employers also complying. Similarly, the electronic device may infer  610  that the employer will refuse compliance based on the parent company refusing compliance. Further, the electronic device may make an inference based on the number of related employers who have previously complied versus related employers who have refused compliance. For example, if the database includes records from thirty employers who belong to a nationwide retail store chain, and if twenty-five of the thirty employers have records that indicate compliance, the electronic device may infer compliance of a new employer that also belongs to the nationwide retail store chain. 
     The electronic device may base the inferred compliance on a number of factors, such as the wage assignment compliance level of related employers, whether the employer is independently owned, the type of business the employer has, the size of the employer, the length of time the employer has been in business, the third-party payroll processor of the employer or the employer&#39;s related employers, etc. The electronic device may improve its inference ability by filtering out (e.g., select or isolate) similar related employers, such as employers all owned by the same franchise owner, employers by geographic location, etc. For example, the electronic device may select all Subway restaurants owned by the same owner from all of the Subway restaurants located in the employer database  318 . As another example, the electronic device may isolate and select only Subway restaurants located in a specific state or within a threshold radius. In this manner, the electronic device may infer, with a higher probability, the wage assignment compliance level of a similar newly added employer by matching it to similar employers already in the database. 
     In some cases, the electronic device may make an inference, before contacting the employer. Once the employer has been contacted and the employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level has been ascertained, the electronic device may update the employer&#39;s record in the database. The electronic device may then record if the inference made was accurate or not. The electronic device may improve the accuracy of further inferences based on tracked statistics, such as regarding inferred wage assignment compliance levels as compared to actual wage assignment compliance levels. 
     The electronic device may receive  612  a request from a client  102  for the wage assignment compliance level of an employer. The electronic device may receive  612  a request from the client  102  at any time. For example, the electronic device may receive  612  a request from the client  102  before the electronic device has requested  602  wage assignment compliance information from an employer. 
     The request from the client  102  may query the electronic device for an employer&#39;s wage assignment compliance level. If the electronic device has the employer stored in the database, the electronic device may recall  614  the response associated with the wage assignment compliance request from the database. Alternatively, the electronic device may request  602  wage assignment compliance information from the employer. 
     The electronic device may reply  616  to the client  102 . The reply may include the wage assignment compliance level of the employer. For example, the reply may indicate that the employer has previously complied with and/or honored a wage assignment agreement by repaying a borrower&#39;s debt; the reply may indicate that the employer has agreed to comply, but has not yet enforced a wage assignment agreement; the reply may indicate that the employer has refused to enforce a wage assignment agreement when presented with one; the reply may indicate that the employer has indicated that they will not enforce a wage assignment agreement; or the reply may indicate the employer has not responded to the electronic device. Other replies may also be given. For example, the electronic device may reply  616  to the client with an inferred wage assignment compliance level for the employer. This may be accompanied by an inference confidence level, or an indication of how accurate the inference may be. The client  102  may use this information in determining whether to issue a loan to the borrower. 
       FIG. 7  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  700  for employing automated wage assignments on an electronic device. The electronic device may be the server  114  described in connection with  FIG. 1  or the employer verifier  314  described in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
     The electronic device may receive  702  notice from a client of a borrower&#39;s default. The notice may include a copy of the wage assignment agreement signed by the borrower. The electronic device may obtain  704  information from the notice. For example, the electronic device may identify the name of the borrower and/or employer and other information about the employer. This borrower and/or employer information may be parsed from the notification. 
     The electronic device may notify  706  the borrower that the wage assignment agreement will be enforced with the employer. For example, the electronic device may notify the borrower that the wage assignment agreement will be sent to the borrower&#39;s employer if payment is not obtained. In some approaches, the electronic device may notify a call center  332  to call the borrower. The electronic device may message, email, mail a letter, and/or text the borrower to inform the borrower that the wage assignment agreement is being sent to their employer. In some cases, multiple notifications may be sent. For example, the electronic device may send three emails or texts informing the borrower that failure to pay will result in the wage assignment being sent to his or her employer. In this example, each of the messages sent to the customer may be different and may be generated by the electronic device and automatically sent. 
     The electronic device may send  708  the wage assignment agreement  338  to the employer along with a request for the employer to collect the debt from the borrower&#39;s wages. For example, the electronic device may email and/or fax a document package including the wage assignment agreement  338  to the employer. In some configurations the electronic device may employ a third party to send the document package or may send it directly. Examples of a third party that may be employed to send the document package include an online fax service, an online email service, a cloud computing based phone, fax, and email system, etc. 
     The request to collect the debt may include the remaining principal amount of the loan, balance, interest, and/or fees. The request to collect the debt may specify that the employer is to withhold a particular amount from the borrower&#39;s paycheck and forward that amount to the lender  302 , such as, for example, through the employer verifier  314 . Sending  708  the request and wage assignment agreement to the employer may be done automatically, for example, by electronic message or facsimile. In some configurations, the electronic device may verify that the employer has received the wage assignment agreement. For instance, the electronic device may request that the call center  332  contact the employer to verify that it has received the wage assignment agreement. 
     The electronic device may determine  710  if the employer will honor the wage assignment agreement. If the employer does not or will not pay back the borrower&#39;s debt, the electronic device may send  712  notice to the client of non-compliance. The electronic device may then update  714  the employer database indicating that the employer has refused to comply with a wage assignment agreement. 
     If the employer does honor the wage assignment agreement, then the employer will deduct the debt owed from the borrower&#39;s wages. The electronic device may verify that the amount requested from the employer does not exceed a maximum amount, such as a maximum deductible percentage set by law. In this case, the electronic device may break the payment requests into smaller amounts below the maximum allowed amount. 
     If the employer pays the borrower&#39;s debt, or a portion thereof, the electronic device may collect  716  the owed amount, or a portion thereof, from the employer. The employer may send the collected debt via a check, an electronic check, wire transfer, direct deposit, etc. The electronic device may then record  718  in the database that the employer is verified and has honored wage assignment agreements. Such records may be used for the other purposes described herein. 
     The electronic device may deduct  720  an amount or percent from the collected amount. The amount deducted from the received payment may be a percentage, flat rate, or fee agreed upon for collecting payment from the employer. For example, the client  102  and the server  114  may agree upon an amount to be deducted from payments received from employers in order to compensate the server  114  operator for the service provided to the client  102  by making it easier for the client  102  to obtain payment of debts from borrowers and their respective employers. The electronic device may send  722  the remainder of the collected amount to the client  102 . 
       FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  800  for associating a borrower with an employer. The method  800  may be performed by an electronic device, such as the server  114  described in connection with  FIG. 1  or the employer verifier  314  described in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
     The electronic device may receive  802  a borrower&#39;s information, including the borrower&#39;s employer information. The borrower&#39;s information may be obtained as described previously. For example, the electronic device may receive borrower information and employer information from a client  102 . The borrower information may include the borrower&#39;s name, social security number, date of birth, address (e.g., physical address and email), contact information, phone number, employer, job title, etc. 
     The electronic device may associate  804  the borrower&#39;s information with the borrower&#39;s employer in a database. For example, the electronic device may have a database, such as a borrower records database  364  that matches the borrower with the borrower&#39;s employer. In some cases, the borrower may be associated with his or her employer by linking the borrower to an employer record  344  located in an employer database  318 . 
     The electronic device may receive  806  notice that the borrower&#39;s employer has changed, for example, to a new employer. For instance, the client  102  may notify the electronic device that the borrower has changed employers. As another example, a borrower&#39;s former employer may notify the electronic device that the borrower is no longer employed by the former employer. Upon receiving the notice, the electronic device may determine  808  if the borrower&#39;s new employer is in the employer database. 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may periodically verify that the borrower still works for the employer on record. For example, the electronic device may request the call center  332  contact the employer quarterly to verify the borrower&#39;s employment status. The frequency of the verification may depend on the duration and/or amount of the loan, for example. 
     If the new employer is located in the employer database on the server  114 , the electronic device may associate  810  the borrower with the new employer. If the new employer is not located in the employer database, the electronic device may contact  812  the new employer and update  814  the employer database, as described above. For example, the electronic device may perform the necessary steps to obtain the wage assignment compliance level of the new employer. 
       FIG. 9  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  900  for assessing lead information using wage assignments. An electronic device may perform the method  900 , such as on a client  102 , a server  114 , or a combination thereof. As another example, the method  900  may be performed by lender  302 , employer verifier  314 , or a combination thereof. 
     The electronic device may obtain  902  one or more leads. The leads may be received from a second electronic device. For example, data including hundreds of leads could be sent to the electronic device. In some instances, a third party may send the leads to the electronic device. Alternatively, the electronic device may generate the leads. The electronic device may sort and filter the leads according to various criteria. 
     The electronic device may select  904  from the one or more leads that have a credit score below a threshold criteria. For example, the electronic device may select leads that have a credit score below a threshold value. These leads may be potential borrowers that generally would not be able to get a loan from even a sub-prime lender. 
     The electronic device may obtain  906  employer information for each lead that has a credit score below the threshold criteria. This may be performed as described above. 
     The electronic device may determine  908 , for each selected lead, whether the lead&#39;s employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement. The electronic device may look up the lead&#39;s employer in an employer database  318  and check if the lead&#39;s employer will comply with a wage assignment agreement. In some configurations, for leads that have no wage assignment information available, the electronic device may infer  910  a wage assignment compliance level, as described above. 
     Based on searching employer records  344  in the employer database  318 , the electronic device may further select  912  leads that have employers who will comply with a wage assignment agreement. The further selected leads may be leads that have employers that have confirmed compliance with payment, indicated compliance, and/or employers with inferred compliance. 
     In some configurations, the electronic device may provide an indication  914  of the further selected leads. The electronic device may provide the indication to the client  102 , another electronic device, or a user. 
     In some configurations, such as if the leads are being bid upon in an auction, the electronic device may optionally submit  916  a bid for one or more of the further selected bids. As described above, a leads provider may obtain information from potential borrowers and offer the potential borrowers&#39; information via an auction to lenders looking to solicit potential borrowers. 
     The electronic device may submit a minimum or near minimum amount needed to win the bids. For example, if bids for each lead range from $1 to $130, the electronic device may place a bid closer to the $1 range per lead. In this manner, the electronic device may obtain leads that are collateralized by their employer for a minimum amount, even though these leads have poor credit scores and may generally be considered undesirable leads by others using traditional analytical methods to evaluate leads. In other words, this approach increases the pool of potential borrowers that may be offered loans by lenders. 
     The electronic device may determine that these leads have collateralized employers based on the employer records  344  in the employer database  318 . These leads would otherwise not have been bid upon because they pose too great a risk to lenders due to their low credit scores determined by traditional methods, such as judging and purchasing leads based on a borrower&#39;s credit histories alone. Thus, validating leads based on their employer&#39;s willingness to accept a wage assignment, rather than solely based on their credit history allows lending agents to identify valuable leads that would otherwise be overlooked by other lending agents that identify customer leads based solely on credit history. Also, validating leads based on an employer&#39;s willingness to accept a wage assignment allows lending agents to make loans to borrowers. 
     As an example, 80,000 leads may be sent to the electronic device each day that may be bid upon. Of those 80,000 leads, 35,000 leads may be traditionally ignored because their credit scores are inadequate. However, of those 35,000 leads, 500 may have inadequate credit scores, but may have employers that will honor wage assignment agreements. Thus, the electronic device may determine that these 500 are potential borrowers, and may bid for these 500 leads at a minimum price. 
     In some configurations, the systems and methods described herein may be combined with traditional credit check methods in winning and obtaining leads who become borrowers. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates various components that may be utilized on an electronic device  1001 . The electronic device  1001  may be the client  102  or client  114  described in connection with  FIG. 1 , or the lender  302 , employer verifier  314 , or call center  332  described in connection with  FIG. 3 . The illustrated components may be located within the same physical structure or in separate housings or structures. The electronic device  1001  may also be configured similarly to one or more of the electronic devices described above in connection with  FIGS. 4-9 . 
     The electronic device  1001  may include one or more processor(s)  1013  and memory  1003 . The memory  1003  may include instructions  1005   a  and data  1007   a . The processor  1013  controls the operation of the electronic device  1001  and may be, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), or another known device. The processor  1013  may be in electronic communication with the memory  1003 . The processor  1013  typically performs logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions  1005   b  and/or data  1007   b  it loads from the memory  1003 . 
     The electronic device  1001  typically may include one or more communication interface(s)  1009  for communicating with other electronic devices. The communication interface(s)  1009  may be based on wired communication technology, wireless communication technology, or both. Examples of different types of communication interfaces include a serial port, a parallel port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an Ethernet adapter, an IEEE 1394 bus interface, a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus interface, an infrared (IR) communication port, a Bluetooth wireless communication adapter, a network storage device, an external hard drive, an optical drive (e.g., compact disc (CD) drive, digital video disc (DVD) drive, Blu-ray drive, etc.) and so forth. 
     The electronic device  1001  typically may include one or more input devices  1011 . Examples of different kinds of input devices  1011  include a keyboard, mouse, microphone, remote control device, button, joystick, trackball, touchpad, touchscreen, lightpen, camera, and/or other input device. The input device  1011  may receive input from another device and/or from a user of the electronic device  1001 . The input device  1011  may comprise multiple devices, blocks, and/or modules that the server or client may use to receive information. For instance, an input device  1011  may be an Ethernet card that may receive information from another computing device connected to a network. In another example, the input device may be a computer mouse that may be used by the electronic device  1001  to detect user interaction such as a “click” on an icon and/or translation of a cursor. 
     The electronic device  1001  typically may include one or more output devices  1015 . Examples of different kinds of output devices  1015  include displays, touchscreens, projectors, speakers, tactile devices, network cards, wireless transmitters, infrared transmitters, lights, etc. The output device  1015  may output, transmit, send, display, project, emit, and/or convey information to another device and/or to a user of the electronic device  1001 . For instance, the output device  1015  may be a monitor that can display information (e.g., images) to a user. In another example, the output device  1015  may be a network card that can transmit information to another computing device connected to a network. In some configurations, the output device  1015  may display a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate user interaction. For example, the electronic device  1001  may display a window with icons that a user may interact with using a keyboard and/or mouse. 
     One specific type of output device  1015  that may typically be included in a electronic device  1001  is a display device  1019 . Display devices  1019  used with configurations disclosed herein may utilize any suitable image projection technology, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), gas plasma, liquid crystal display (LCD), cathode ray tube (CRT), electroluminescence, or the like. A display controller  1019  may also be provided for converting data stored in the memory into text, graphics, and/or moving images.  FIG. 10  illustrates only one possible configuration of an electronic device  1001 . Various other architectures and components may be utilized. 
     In the above description, reference numbers have sometimes been used in connection with various terms. Where a term is used in connection with a reference number, this may refer to a specific element that is shown in one or more of the figures. Where a term is used without a reference number, this may refer generally to the term without limitation to any particular figure. 
     The term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like. 
     The phrase “based on” does not mean “based only on,” unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” describes both “based only on” and “based at least on.” 
     The term “processor” should be interpreted broadly to encompass a general purpose processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, and so forth. Under some circumstances, a “processor” may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc. The term “processor” may refer to a combination of processing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. 
     The term “memory” should be interpreted broadly to encompass any electronic component capable of storing electronic information. The term memory may refer to various types of processor-readable media such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic or optical data storage, registers, etc. Memory is said to be in electronic communication with a processor if the processor can read information from and/or write information to the memory. Memory that is integral to a processor is in electronic communication with the processor. 
     The terms “instructions” and “code” should be interpreted broadly to include any type of non-transitory computer-readable statements. For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” may refer to one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures, etc. “Instructions” and “code” may comprise a single computer-readable statement or many computer-readable statements. 
     The term “computer-readable medium” refers to any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or processor. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer-readable medium may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. It should be noted that a computer-readable medium may be non-transitory and tangible. 
     Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies, such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies, such as infrared, radio, and microwave, are included in the definition of transmission medium. 
     The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method that is being described, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. 
     It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes, and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation, and details of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein without departing from the scope of the claims.