Financial Institutions

Earned wage access programs (“EWA”), otherwise known as On-Demand Pay, real-time pay or early wage access, have increasingly gained popularity in recent years.  EWA is a payroll program where employees are able to access their pay when they want, rather than on a traditional schedule determined by the employer.  The growth of EWAs has been fostered by the overall FinTech and Faster Payments revolution taking place as well as the gig economy.  The use of EWA become widespread due to workers’ arising needs and expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to current inflationary pressures.

Read more about EWA, the two types of EWA, reaction by state and federal agencies and key things to consider in considering regulation of EWAs.

Read more: 2024 EWA programs-F