In a recent survey, 61% of employees in the US said that they would rather not wait for their scheduled payday to access their earned wages. With the growing popularity of Earned Wage Access, the payments landscape is about to change forever.
Simply put, Earned Wage Access (commonly abbreviated as “EWA”) is a tool that allows employees to access their earned wages whenever they need to throughout the month. Various EWA platforms have been created worldwide to serve the millions of employees who may need this access in their day-to-day lives. But why is such a tool so important? And who really benefits here?
Uncertain times ahead
As we push through the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of flexible access to funds is more prominent than ever before. With nearly 78 percent of the U.S. population living paycheck-to-paycheck, having the chance to pay important bills and other costs when they arise can alleviate large amounts of financial stress – especially during turbulent economic times.
This central need for a safety net inspired the development of EWA platforms globally. The ability to pay bills on time allows employees to avoid crippling late payment fees and the build-up of associated costs, which often forces them to use short-term loans to make payments. This can negatively affect financial wellbeing and lead to a vicious cycle of debt.
Job Satisfaction
Importantly for employers, Earned Wage Access was also created with their interests in mind. Having to resort to loans to make ends meet negatively impacts employee motivation within a job. Time and again studies have shown that employees who cannot make pay their bills on time or make ends meets often restart to lose interest in their role. With an EWA platform in its corner, financial crises can often be avoided.
As the business world continues to evolve, EWA is increasingly becoming a part of the employment landscape. As more and more businesses worldwide begin to introduce EWA platforms for their employees, job hunters will likely look out for this employee benefit when choosing a company to work at.
Budgeting tools
As well as a simple and useful way to access earned wages, some EWA platforms also include budgeting tools. These in-app features can be used as a savings account where users can save small amounts each month for rainy days or important bills. While saving, users can also take advantage of alerts and guides.
EWA apps often include alerts that warn users when they are spending unusual amounts of their earnings or flag potentially fraudulent activity when it occurs. These additional features are now common in the premier EWA platforms on the market today.
AnyDay is the solution
When it comes to choosing the right Earned Wage Access platform for your company, AnyDay is a fantastic choice. As the world’s first vertically integrated provider of on-demand payment solutions, AnyDay provides an easy-to-access platform for employees and employers which can be integrated seamlessly into any HR payment’s infrastructure.
With a strong focus on intuitive usability, AnyDay provides instant payment of accrued wages at low- to-no-cost to both the employer and employee and has a range of excellent savings tools and features. To learn more about AnyDay, head on over to www.AnyDayisPayday.com today.