Credit Union E-Bike Loans: How Verified Commuting Data Strengthens Starter Lending

Credit unions were built around a clear principle: people helping people.

That principle is not charity. It is service — member-owned finance applied to real-world needs, with discipline, fairness, and accountability.

The Dandy Horse, Inc. (TDH) believes credit unions are positioned to lead the next generation of starter lending by pairing affordable credit union e-bike loans with verified commuting behavior, patented activity verification, and audit-grade member data. This is where VIDAT™, BRS™, and IAI™ become relevant tools for credit union starter-loan programs.

TDH's patented system, protected by U.S. Patent No. 11,998,801 B2, is designed to verify physical activity through repeatable evidence. For a credit union, that means an e-bike starter loan is not limited to a static application, a thin credit file, or a one-time underwriting snapshot — it can be supported by verified behavior over time.

Why Thin-File and Credit-Challenged Borrowers Need Better Loan Evidence

Millions of Americans are thin-file, credit-challenged, or credit-invisible. Many are workers, students, essential employees, and younger members who need affordable transportation and a path into the financial system.

Traditional starter loans can help, but they carry a structural limitation: once the loan is booked, the credit union typically has limited visibility into whether the financed asset is being used productively.

Generic e-bike lenders finance the purchase. Wellness apps may log activity. Lead-generation platforms may produce applications. TDH is structured differently.

TDH's model is designed as an evidence ladder:

Verified onboarding
Verified ride sessions
Behavioral Reliability Scoring (BRS™)
Infrastructure-adjusted fairness review (IAI™)
Loan monitoring
Paydown tracking
Relationship expansion

What Is BRS™? Behavioral Reliability from Verified Commuting

BRS™ (Behavioral Reliability Score) is designed to help credit unions evaluate verified commuting discipline as a supplemental data input.

BRS™ is not a replacement for compliant underwriting. It is not a FICO score. It is not a promise of repayment. It is a form of behavioral evidence generated from verified, repeatable activity.

A member who consistently verifies bicycle or e-bike commuting through Start Tap and End Tap events creates a pattern that can reflect consistency, follow-through, route adherence, frequency, and continuity.

For a credit union, this evidence is designed to support better starter-loan servicing, member coaching, and identification of members who may be ready for additional products. The value is not limited to origination — it is designed to continue after the loan is made.

What Is IAI™? Fairness Context Through Infrastructure Data

Not every member rides through the same environment.

Some riders have protected bike lanes, secure parking, predictable routes, and safer corridors. Others face dangerous roads, poor infrastructure, bad lighting, theft risk, weather exposure, or inconsistent endpoint access.

IAI™ (Infrastructure Adjustment Index) is designed to separate verified member behavior from corridor conditions. A lower ride frequency does not necessarily indicate lower reliability — it may reflect infrastructure constraints outside the member's control.

For credit unions, this distinction matters. Fair lending review and model governance require context. IAI™ is built to provide a disciplined review layer so verified behavior data can be interpreted responsibly and consistently.

The operating principle:

BRS™ measures verified behavioral reliability. IAI™ provides fairness context. Conventional affordability analysis remains mandatory.

How the Credit Union E-Bike Starter Loan Program Works

TDH's credit union model is built around e-bike starter loans, typically structured within a small-dollar lending framework.

Opens or activates a credit union account
Account relationship established
Receives a credit-union-branded card or NFC credential
Verification credential issued
Completes VIDAT™ onboarding
Baseline verification record
Verifies commuting activity via Start/End Tap
Ride sequence, BRS™ band, IAI™ context

The credit union's relationship file is designed to include: verified ride sequence, BRS™ band, IAI™ context, verification confidence, amount financed, amount paid off, remaining balance, next payment due, reserve coverage, branded NFC touches, miles substituted, and carbon avoided.

This structure is intended to support a different type of starter-loan relationship. The credit union retains the member relationship, loan book, deposit relationship, card relationship, and interest economics. TDH provides the patented verification, scoring, dashboard, and data-licensing layer.

The E-Bike Lending Market Opportunity for Credit Unions

The e-bike market is sized large enough for credit unions to act before point-of-sale lenders dominate the relationship. TDH's credit union planning case identifies a 2025–2028 U.S. e-bike opportunity of approximately 6.83 million units, with even modest credit-union capture rates translating into meaningful starter-loan volume.

The strongest opportunity segment is not the total e-bike market — it is the inclusive segment: members who need affordable transportation, credit-building support, and structured underwriting evidence. That includes younger members, students, essential workers, lower-income commuters, thin-file borrowers, and credit-invisible consumers.

For a credit union, this framing positions the program as both a lending product and a membership-growth strategy.

Daily Card Utility: Top-of-Wallet Engagement With Functional Purpose

Most financial institutions compete for top-of-wallet status through rewards, promotions, and advertising. TDH's model is designed to create engagement through functional daily use instead.

The credit union card or NFC credential becomes part of the commute itself — used to verify rides, track member progress, and connect the credit union to a daily behavior pattern.

A modeled active rider using Start Tap and End Tap verification 12 ride days per month generates approximately 288 branded credential interactions per year.

Portfolio Dashboard: What Credit Unions Can Monitor

A credit union using the TDH platform is designed to monitor program performance through portfolio-level analytics, including:

Verified ride sequence
Ride-day frequency
BRS™ distribution
IAI™ adjustment context
Funded-loan take rate
Delinquency
Reserve coverage
Paydown trajectory
Branded NFC touches
Carbon avoided and vehicle miles displaced

This structure is intended to turn an e-bike starter loan into a monitored relationship, allowing the credit union to view repayment performance and verified mobility behavior together.

How CUSOs Can Scale the Model Across Credit Unions

A CUSO (credit union service organization) can standardize the policy package, implementation process, member onboarding, dashboard roles, grant support, reserve structure, training, compliance documentation, and portfolio reporting for this program.

That structure is designed to create one repeatable architecture across many local credit union deployments. In this arrangement:

The credit union remains the lender and relationship owner
The CUSO functions as the deployment multiplier
TDH provides the patented verification and data layer

Not Lead Generation — A Verified Member Growth System

TDH's credit union program is not designed as a lead-generation product, an e-bike checkout button, or a wellness app. It is structured as a verified starter-loan system connecting mobility, credit-building, member engagement, and measurable community impact.

For a credit union evaluating this program, the strategic value includes:

Access to younger members
A useful, affordable starter-credit product
Verified behavioral evidence as a supplemental underwriting input
Fairness-aware review through IAI™
Daily card and credential utility
Measurable community transportation and emissions impact
A structured path from first loan to long-term member relationship

Credit unions were created to serve members through disciplined financial cooperation. TDH's patented verification infrastructure is designed to support that mission in the verified mobility economy.

Interested in evaluating an e-bike starter loan program for your credit union or CUSO? Request the VIDAT™ Credit Union E-Bike Starter Loan Program overview from The Dandy Horse, Inc.

This content describes a program architecture designed to support credit union underwriting and member engagement. It is not a guarantee of loan performance, credit decisioning outcome, or regulatory approval. Credit unions should conduct independent legal, compliance, and fair-lending review before implementation.