Early wage access programs allow employees to gain access to wages before their company’s regular payday. The financial well-being of Indian employees has often been discussed but rarely researched. A recently launched report titled ‘Earned Wage Access in India: The final frontier of employee wellbeing’ gives a ringside view of the state of financial well-being of Indian employees.

EWA allows employers to access earned wages, which alleviates part of the burden of living pay check-to-pay check. The benefits of offering wage access to your employees relate to improving employee livelihood. Our speaker, Smiti Bhatt Deorah, is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Advantage Club, It is a global platform for employee engagement and financial wellness including perks, rewards and early wage access. It brings multiple benefits on a single platform and are running successfully with 370+ companies across 60+ countries.

Key Takeaways:

• There are interest rates, processing fees, and hidden fees when it comes to non-EWA (Earned Wage Access), whereas there is only a small convenience fee at times in EWA.
• When it comes to firms, EWA helps to set up a holistic wellness program, low attrition, higher productivity and helps attract talent that benefits the employers.
• 86% of employees have salaries that are less than INR 10 lakhs per year, and EWA will help them meet their financial needs.
• In the Indian landscape, there is no data to predict if the 30-day pay cycle or the 15-day pay cycle operates better. It is also attributed to the spending behavior/needs of the employee.
• People get their EWA for numerous reasons. The few that top the survey report include personal emergencies, utility bills, and rent.