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April 4, 2022

On the web

March 11, 2022

On the web

Why PNC Plugged Into an Early Wage Access Marketplace

American Banker

“PNC Financial Services Group is working to help corporate clients retain their employees by supporting a number of payment technologies that can free up workers’ cash flow. PNC supports both early wage access (EWA) — a system for giving employees the portion of their paycheck they’ve already earned ahead of the traditional payday — and Request for Pay (RfP), an invoicing method tied to real-time payments.”

February 24, 2022

On the web

FlexWage Wins Favorable California Ruling

Payments Dive

“On-demand pay company FlexWage Solutions logged a regulatory win this month when a California regulator ruled it isn’t required to have certain licenses to offer its early access to pay services in the state. FlexWage said in a press release Wednesday that it’s the only operator in the field that has received such a legal opinion from California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company requested the ruling last year.”

February 23, 2022

On the wires

U.S. Bank, Payactiv Unveil New Earned Wage Access Solution for Employers | U.S. Bancorp

“U.S. Bank announced a new solution with Payactiv to bring Earned Wage Access (EWA) to U.S. Bank clients. Employees at organizations that use the prepaid U.S. Bank Focus Card for payroll disbursements can access a portion of their earned wages on-demand through an immediate direct deposit to their U.S. Bank Focus Card. The collaboration includes other payment options including an instant deposit into an employee’s checking account via Real-Time Payments (RTP).”

January 6, 2022

On the wires

DAILYPAY ANNOUNCES ITS DIGITAL WALLET SOLUTION TO HELP WORKERS STAY FINANCIALLY STABLE

“DailyPay, featured in TIME’s “Best Inventions of 2021,” today announced their one-of-a-kind digital wallet solution. DailyPay’s digital wallet solution is designed for everyday working Americans, many of whom are facing unprecedented financial challenges with the resurgence of the pandemic. The DailyPay wallet solution is the only digital wallet that automatically fills itself every day a user works, reflecting their pay balance in real-time. As long as the user works for a company partnering with DailyPay, their usable DailyPay Balance™ is always growing — effectively eliminating the traditional payday.”

November 10, 2021

On the wires

Even Adds Real-Time Payments From J.P. Morgan to Provide Workers With Instant Access to Earned Wages

Even , a leading financial benefits platform designed to provide financial resiliency and control to employees, today announced that millions of hourly workers across the U.S now have instant access to their earned wages. Real-time payments (RTP) from J.P. Morgan is the latest addition to Even’s platform, providing members with even more options to access their pay in real time. RTP is a secure and frictionless payment method that instantly delivers funds to an Even member’s bank account, giving them access to their earned wages in seconds rather than days, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. Since the beta launch in July, Even members have accessed more than $250 million in earned wages instantly. Within the Even platform members can access wages at the push of a button through digital instant disbursement options which include Push to Card and now RTP.”

November 8, 2021

On the web

Tipalti Launches a Prepaid Debit Card to Help Facilitate Payroll for the Unbanked

Digital Transactions

“Payables-automation company Tipalti Inc. is partnering with Intercash, a provider of prepaid card solutions, to offer Mastercard-branded prepaid cards in 192 countries, including Latin America and Southeast Asia. Tipalti views the cards, which are available to the general public, as a way for businesses to pay unbanked and underbanked workers by depositing payroll funds directly to the cardholder’s prepaid account. In turn, that makes the cards an attractive payment option for companies that rely on partners in countries with limited financial infrastructure, the company says.”

September 1, 2021

On the web

Robinhood Plans Early-Deposit Feature That Rivals PayPal

Bloomberg

Robinhood Markets Inc. is working on a new feature that lets users receive their paychecks via direct deposit up to two days early, stepping up competition with companies like PayPal Holdings Inc. and Wealthfront Corp.  Work on the new service was discovered inside of a beta version of an upcoming update to the company’s iPhone app. The option is dubbed Early Direct Deposit and will be available within Robinhood’s existing direct-deposit feature. The code also indicates that the service won’t have fees.”

August 19, 2021

On the web

Revolut Launches Earned Wage Access Feature Payday in UK

Silicon Republic

“Revolut has announced the launched of a new ‘earned wage access’ product called Payday . Payday will allow employees at participating companies, for a “small, flat fee”, to access some of their wages as they earn them, rather than waiting for a fixed day to be paid on. People will only be able to withdraw from what they’ve already earned, so is “not a loan or credit” according to Revolut.”

August 18, 2021

On the web

July 21, 2021

On the wires

InComm Payments Invests in Instant Financial, Establishes Strategic Partnership Supporting Earned Wage Access | InComm

InComm Payments , a leading payments technology company, today announced that it has made an undisclosed investment in Instant Financial , a leading provider of fee-free earned wage access (EWA) solutions. Established in 2015, Instant is a financial wellness company that helps employees bridge the gap between workday and payday by allowing them to access a portion of their wages immediately after their shift, simply with the tap of their smartphone.”

June 21, 2021

On the web

‘It Lessens My Bills’: $500 Payments Tested in Upstate NY

AP NEWS

“Annette Steele isn’t destitute or unemployed. But for a year she’ll be receiving $500 per month in no-strings-attached payments as part of an experimental universal basic income program in upstate New York…During the pilot program, funded by private donations, 100 county residents making less than $46,900 annually will get $500 a month for a year. The income threshold was based on 80% of the county’s average median income, meaning it includes both the poor and a slice of the middle class — people who face financial stress but might not ordinarily qualify for government aid based on income.”

June 14, 2021

On the wires

New payment tool for flexible workers in the gig economy

“ABN AMRO is introducing a new instant payment service that makes it easier for flexible workers to decide themselves when their invoice is paid once the work is done. This shortens the time between when the work is delivered and payment for their services from a number of weeks to one second. Freelancers have complete control over their earnings.”

June 10, 2021

On the wires

Clair Closes $15M Series A Led by Thrive Capital

Clair, a social impact, embedded fintech startup transforming how America’s hourly workers get paid, today announced the close of a $15 million Series A funding round led by Thrive Capital , a firm that has been a part of building and investing in many of the top technology companies of the last decade. This brings Clair’s total funding to $19.5 million, following its seed round led by Upfront Ventures announced seven months ago. Clair enables HR tech and gig companies to give hourly workers free instant cash advances on their earnings. Today, Clair has partnerships with platforms used by over 1.5 million hourly and gig workers.”

June 8, 2021

On the web

Taking Cue From Fintechs, Banks Warm to Early Direct Deposit

American Banker

“A small number of banks have begun offering early direct deposit — a move that will cost them revenue in the short run but could help them preserve market share and strengthen their public image over the long term. This service, which is sometimes called early pay, lets customers access their paycheck a day or two sooner than normal to avoid overdraft fees or the need to turn to a payday lender. Early direct deposit has been made popular in the past decade by challenger banks like Chime, Varo and One, though a few community banks have offered it for years. Many traditional banks have been unwilling to give up the overdraft fees they can reap in the days leading up to payday. But some — including Capital One Financial — have embraced early direct deposit to appeal to consumers, who are increasingly drawn to an expanding field of consumer-friendly neobanks.”

May 18, 2021

On the wires

DailyPay Raises $500 Million Of Capital, Powering Its Mission To Transform The Financial System

DailyPay , the leader in on-demand pay solutions for enterprises, today announced it has secured $500 million of capital…80% of Fortune 200 companies that offer on-demand pay partner with DailyPay. Over the last 12 months, the company has reached a number of key milestones. The company grew revenue by 141% in 2020 and released a suite of new products and services that benefit employers, including tools to enable off-cycle payments and remit employee reward payments .”

April 29, 2021

On the wires

Fiserv Enables Employers to Make Every Day Payday Via Money Network Payroll Cards

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, announced today that businesses leveraging Money Network ® electronic payroll delivery services from Fiserv can provide employees early access to their wages. This increasingly in-demand benefit, known as earned wage access (EWA), is being made available through Money Network prepaid payroll cards via integrated capabilities from Instant Financial.”

April 28, 2021

On the web

Branch, an Employer Payments Platform, and Card Issuance Platform Marqeta Share Latest on Payments Preferences for Gig Workers

Crowdfund Insider

“Branch, an Employer Payments Platform, and global card issuing platform Marqeta have shared the findings from a study on the work and payments “preferences” of gig workers. Surveying more than 1,000 workers who began engaging in gig and 1099 work during the past six months, the Branch x Marqeta Gig Payments Report reveals that “driven by the pandemic, 85% of respondents said they had picked up additional work.””

April 21, 2021

On the wires

Deel, the Leading Platform for Global Hiring and Payments, Raises $156m Reaching Unicorn Status

“Deel, the international payroll company shattering hiring barriers worldwide, announced today that it has raised $156 million in Series C funding led by the YC Continuity Fund and has welcomed Ali Rowghani to its board. The round was co-led by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital…Deel allows businesses to hire anyone, anywhere, in a compliant manner. Hiring and onboarding international employees or contractors takes under 5 minutes, with no local entity required. Paying them in 120+ currencies takes just a click.”

Comdata Introduces Fintwist® OnDemand Digital Payment Solution

“Comdata, a leading provider of innovative payment solutions, announced the launch of Fintwist OnDemand, a real-time payment process incorporated into the company’s innovative Fintwist digital platform. Fintwist customers can now offer their employees access to earned wages before payday without changes to existing payroll processes.”

April 19, 2021

On the web

Even Exceeds $2.5 Billion in Instant Payments to Workers From Walmart, PayPal and Others

PaymentsSource

“Earned wage access provider Even has surpassed $2.5 billion in lifetime payment volume for instant, on-demand wages to employees of hundreds of companies, including Walmart and PayPal . Oakland, Calif.-based Even first began offering on-demand wage payments to employees for earned, but not yet paid wages in 2017. While the company would not disclose how much in instant payments had been made in the past year, it did report that volume has been steadily building in the last five years with a major boost experienced during COVID-19. The company reported that about 64% of its users use the on-demand pay feature.”

March 9, 2021

On the web

March 4, 2021

On the wires

Introducing Plaid Income: Delivering Easier and Faster Income Verification | Plaid

“At Plaid, we believe payroll data is the next frontier in fintech and open finance. Access to payroll data has tremendous potential to expand financial opportunity and help people lead healthier financial lives.  As a first step toward providing that access, we previously introduced Deposit Switch , the first beta product in our Plaid for Payroll suite. Today, we’re announcing our second solution: Income.”

Hancock Whitney Bank Offers PayActiv EWA Program to Business Clients

“PayActiv, the only EWA Program to receive an Approval Order from the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB), welcomes Hancock Whitney, the first bank to offer PayActiv’s financial wellness solution to its bank clients. Starting immediately, Hancock Whitney will include PayActiv as an additional banking solution for its business clients.”

March 2, 2021

On the wires

DailyPay Expands Platform: Announces Integration Offering For Human Capital Management And Payroll Industries

DailyPay , the recognized gold standard in the on-demand pay industry, today announced the launch of a game-changing new product, ExtendPX , for human capital management (HCM) and payroll service providers. ExtendPX moves DailyPay beyond their traditional On-Demand Pay (ODP) business offering. The announcement of ExtendPX will enable every Payroll, HCM and TMS (Time Management Software) company in the U.S. to offer highly demanded on-demand pay services through a customizable, modular on-demand pay solution that can be embedded into the product suite that they offer to their customers.”

February 18, 2021

On the wires

Visa and ADP Unveil Flexible Digital Payment Options to Serve U.S. Workforce

“As COVID-19 continues to accelerate the shift to digital, more businesses and individuals are now operating in an on-demand world, driven by flexibility, convenience and speed. Digital payments play a critical role in this movement, particularly with regards to work, as employers look for optimized ways to conduct their business and employees look to get paid quickly, conveniently and securely.”

February 10, 2021

On the wires

Clair Launches Mastercard Debit Card to Provide Free Wage Advances to Hourly Workers

Clair , a social impact embedded fintech startup transforming how hourly employees get paid, today announced a partnership with Mastercard to provide financial wellness for America’s 82 million non-exempt workers , building on the two companies’ shared mission to foster a more inclusive digital economy. Starting immediately, users who sign up for Clair will receive the Clair Debit Mastercard, which hourly workers can use to access their free daily wage advances.”

January 29, 2021

On the web

California to Regulate Early Wage Access Firms Under Landmark Agreements

American Banker

“Five companies in the early wage access industry have reached landmark agreements with California regulators that will govern their operations in the nation’s largest state. The voluntary pacts give the firms, which to date have been largely unregulated, greater certainty about their ability to offer products to the state’s nearly 40 million residents. In exchange, the companies agreed to allow regular examinations, share quarterly data with the regulators and abide by certain limits on their pricing. The deals do not force any changes to the firms’ existing revenue models.”

January 28, 2021

On the wires

Introducing Plaid Deposit Switch: Automating Account Funding | Plaid

“More financial platforms exist than ever before to help consumers take control of their financial health. However, it can still be difficult for consumers to direct where their payroll funds go when choosing services that best fit their financial needs. Changing where direct deposits go is usually a manual and time-consuming process for both financial institutions and consumers.”

January 27, 2021

On the wires

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