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Earned Wage Access
Problem:
A majority of American workers live paycheck to paycheck. With normal weekly or biweekly payroll cycles, workers sometimes run short of money which may cause financial anxiety and forces many workers to turn to costly short-term loans.
Solution:
Providing workers early access to earned wages or offering real-time pay (work today, get paid today) is something that not only can help many workers during difficult economic times, but also is a benefit that more workers are coming to expect. Earned wage access (EWA) and real time pay provided via real-time payments over the RTP® network allows businesses to offer workers faster access to their earned wages, while also providing a perk that can help attract and retain workers in today’s tight labor market.
American workers normally wait one to two weeks between paydays. Their pay is often done through an ACH transaction, but the weekly or biweekly schedule may leave some workers stressed about having enough money for food and regular living expenses between paydays. If an unexpected expense arises, such as a car repair, workers who are unable to receive the money they have already earned, sometimes take out short term, high interest rate loans. Real-time payments over the RTP® network can improve cash flow for workers by enabling them to receive their pay before their next scheduled payday or even instantaneously at the end of their shift.
EWA providers, such as DailyPay or Earnin, use real-time payments over the RTP® network offered by their banks so that workers can receive their pay one the same day that they work.
Now, with real-time payments over the RTP® network, workers will be able to receive their pay before their scheduled payday or even the moment their shift ends. This leads to an improvement in employee satisfaction, a decrease of employee turnover and financial anxiety, and an increase in recruits for jobs that offer EWA.
Note: Some Earned wage access providers sometimes charge fees for services as well, which are often paid by the employee. Consumer financial education is important for all consumers and those who use an earned wage access tool need to be aware that even small service fees can add up over time.