With ballooning inflation and many Australians now living paycheck to paycheck, an increasing number of forward-thinking companies have started offering workers the ability to get immediate access to their earned wages.

Employees are also behind this push for getting access early to their pay, as part of a global movement, which has already gathered significant traction in the USA and UK.

Steven Furman, CEO of Paytime, a platform that plugs into payroll allowing employees to access a portion of their earned pay before pay day, says business interest has shot up more than 600%  in the last three months.

“The workplace salary payment system is outdated. We are seeing around 150+ inquiries a week and growing, from employees that want our solution and access to their earned wages,” said Mr Furman.

“Brands are also increasingly seeing the value in offering this to their staff, both in attracting and retaining staff in a tight labour market.‘

“Employees are demanding more and more benefits from companies in order to stay and Earned Wage Access is a key benefit in avoiding the great resignation,” said Mr Furman.

McGrath Estate Agents, Supabarn, Aspen Pharmacare and several other major Aussie brands are some of the early adopters of Paytime in Australia.

In the US and UK this is already a commonplace offering with Uber, McDonalds, KFC, Target, Foot Locker, Hilton Hotels, Paypal and Pizza Hut amongst the companies which have this in place for their staff.

Mr Furman, who spent 25 years in private equity and advisory, came up with the HR fintech solution after realising how many Australians are now living paycheck to paycheck, with many trapped in a cycle of debt, fuelled by high interest consumer loans and predatory payday loans.

“PayTime is not a payday loan. We do not charge a percentage interest of the amount withdrawn, we do not need to do credit checks as there is nothing for the employee to repay - employees can only access the money they’ve already earned. Think of it as a company running payroll for each employee whenever they need it, which of course is not feasible with current payroll software” he said.

This also comes as a just released independent survey of more than 1000 Australian workers - across  healthcare, retail, education, manufacturing, mining and hospitality - has found that 81% would like to have the opportunity to access their earned pay before payday.

The data also found that 83% also believed their mental wellbeing would improve if they could access their pay when it suits them and 72% would likely choose one employer over another if they offered early access to their earned wages.

“If staff need money before they are next paid, due to the car breaking down, an unexpected medical expense or even if their CTP Greenslip falls due before payday, the only other option is credit cards, personal loans or payday loans,” said Mr Furman.

“These of course will give them access to money needed, but it comes at a very high cost.”

Top three things Aussies are using Buy Now Pay Later Solutions for*

• Household bills - 38%
• Groceries - 37%
• Petrol - 27%

“Many workers run into unexpected expenses and have to wait for their paycheck, leaving them stressed about matching up expenses to the timing of their income.”

“It’s important to provide a safety net for workers to enable their money to work harder and smarter for them,” added Mr Furman.

A recent report by Ernst and Young** found 7 in 10 Australians live paycheck to paycheck and have less than $5000 in savings at any given time.

2 in 3 have turned to credit cards to meet their spending needs and 1 in 5 has used a personal loan or mortgage draw down to make a vital purchase.

Waiting a week, a fortnight or even a month for one's pay is so old school - employees should not need to ask for what is already theirs, they should have the flexibility to access their earned pay whenever it suits them.

About Paytime

Paytime provides businesses with a free technology platform that allows employees the ability to access a portion of their earned wages at any time during the month. It plugs seamlessly into the company’s payroll software and accesses real-time information. 

The integration is simple,  the platform easily integrates with Payroll and Timekeeping systems utilising Application Programming Interface (API). Employees can typically withdraw 50% of their earned wages and it is received within minutes into their bank account. Unlike payroll; CRM’s or ERP solutions Paytime does all the heavy lifting when it comes to implementation so that there is very little required from the company’s side, and it runs seamlessly in the background with no need to change payroll. There is also no effect on a company’s cash flow when staff access their pay, as Paytime funds these withdrawals on behalf of the company.

*Report released by research house RFI Global in March 2022.

** Report released by Ernst and Young in March 2022.