Visa partners with Earned Wage Access (EWA) vendors to provide financial security to frontline workers.
Frontline workers are not only battling the pandemic but are also vulnerable to health risks and lack access to paid sick leave. According to the PayActiv Hourly Worker surveyOpens a new window (conducted among 12,000 US PayActiv users), 82% of hourly workers are worried about the loss of pay. The fear of financial insecurity is due to less or no access to paid sick leave, leaving workers economically vulnerable. The lack of sick leave is due to various reasons, such as the benefit is inapplicable for hourly workers, or it is conditional on job tenure or hours. Even if the workers have some access to paid sick leave, only a handful of workers have benefited from it. To reduce the financial pressure on frontline workers, Visa has partnered with Earned Wage Access (EWA) technology vendors such as DailyPay, PayActiv, ZayZoon, Instant Financial, and FlexWage and merchants to make EWA a reality for hourly workers.
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Earned Wage Access (EWA) a Boon for Hourly Workers
Earned Wage Access is a fintech service that allows employees to access their earned wages in between their payroll cycle. This service will provide real-time access to earnings which frontline workers can use in buying essential commodities during this health crisis. The Earned Wage Access Preference surveyOpens a new window commissioned by Visa (conducted among 1,000 workers across various industries in the US) reported employees need faster access to their earned wages. The survey’s findings stated 44% of workers have less than $500 in savings, whereas 84% of workers use EWQ to purchase necessities such as groceries, gas, and emergency expenses. The survey also hinted that EWA is the solution to attract, retain, and engage employees. 89% of workers would stay longer with the company offering EWA, whereas 79% of workers would switch to the company already offering EWA.
Visa and EWA Providers Partnership
The partnershipOpens a new window is an integration of Visa Direct — Visa’s real-time push payments platform with the EWA technology provider. Frontline workers need to download an app from their EWA provider and can instantly access and transfer earned wages into their bank account using Visa Direct.
This digital partnership will power faster and secure payments to the needy frontline workers, during the crisis.
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