An Alternative to Begging the Boss for an Advance
Newcomer Refyne lets workers get a portion of their salary before payday for far less than local moneylenders charge.
Photo: Getty Images
As the owner of 19 sporting goods stores and shoe shops in the Indian city of Bilaspur, Ankur Behal had grown weary of entreaties from some of his 300 workers asking for financial assistance to tide them over to the next payday. So in February he signed his employees on with a startup called Refyne, which offers users quick and easy advances. “That headache’s gone away,” he says. “The workers feel in control of their finances, they can budget, spend, save, and track their money.”
Millions of India’s salaried workers live paycheck to paycheck and have difficulty covering unexpected health-care emergencies or family expenses—and sometimes even their rent. When these people get into a bind, they often ask their boss for an advance.