Earned-wage access (On-Demand Pay or Real-Time Pay)

 “Earned-wage access,” also referred to as “on-demand pay” or “real-time pay,” refers to the ability of a worker to access the money they already earned earlier as soon as they earned it, rather than only at company-defined payday intervals. The average American worker has savings of less than $500, 78% of them live paycheck to paycheck with little to no savings, and one in three workers runs out of money before payday.

Thanks to new technology from companies like DailyPay, employers can now offer employees on-demand pay, delivering their money (sometimes called their “pay balance”) to their bank as early as the day it is earned—or on demand. And this is not a payday loan, which charges usurious fees. Instead, this is a real-time pay system designed to keep workers from experiencing financial stress, resulting in increased loyalty and reduced turnover. 

This practice has evolved from the “loan sharks” of the early 20^th century, over expensive payday lenders (both manual and digital) to an ATM-like feature with very little financial burden to the employee, and no cost to employers. This helps attract, engage, and retain hourly workers.