Employers Embrace Apps That Let Them Pay Daily
With wage growth still weak, new tech like Instant Financial is helping companies boost retention with hourly workers.
For Shaahir Liles, it’s like having payday every day. An assistant manager at a Wendy’s in Towne Lake, Ga., Liles says he’s less stressed out since his employer started offering workers a new perk—a financial app he can tap as often as he wants to get money. “I signed up, and I’ve loved it ever since,” he says of Instant Financial, a mobile-based service that allows him access, free of charge, to half of his prior day’s earnings to cover expenses between paydays, or even to get extra dollars for a night out. “It gives you the freedom to cash that money out, just in case.”
Employers looking to attract and retain hourly workers have to get creative as the labor market tightens. One way to reduce churn is to reduce the wait between paychecks. The benefit was being rolled out at the Hoover Foods Inc.-run franchise when Liles began working there in February. By June, 24 of 30 employees at that location were using it, he says.