The launch, announced Monday (Oct. 27), is open to all workers on the Workwhile platform, and not just independent contractors, as part of the company’s new “Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck Is Dead” campaign.
The goal of that campaign is to spotlight what WorkWhile calls its “commitment to empowering workers with financial freedom in a challenging economic climate.”
“The move comes at a critical time for American workers,” the company said in a news release, citing PYMNTS Intelligence research showing more than two-thirds of Americans living from paycheck to paycheck.
“Compounding this challenge, high interest rates have made credit card debt and personal loans more expensive than ever, trapping many in a cycle of high-interest borrowing just to cover unexpected expenses,” the release added.
The company said its Real-Time Pay feature will offer workers no-cost access to a substantial portion of their earned wages the day after they finish a shift, in contrast to bi-weekly or monthly pay cycles, which WorkWhile says can force workers to use things like payday loans or credit card advances when facing an emergency.
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“The gap between earning money and accessing it can be the difference between financial stability and a spiral into high-interest debt,” said Jarah Euston, CEO of WorkWhile.
“Our Real-Time Pay feature directly addresses this problem. We are not just accelerating a payment; we are providing a vital tool for financial health and declaring that the old model of living paycheck-to-paycheck is no longer the default.”
And as noted here Monday, instant pay can foster real economic resilience. When workers can gain access to wags in real time, it lessens their dependence on high-cost credit and raises their levels of financial confidence.
Additional PYMNTS Intelligence research found that even a 1% change in wages across the “labor economy” — workers in sectors like dining, delivery, hospitality and warehouses — can move GDP by $17 billion.
This highlights the way pay continuity and liquidity directly impact national economic performance, PYMNTS wrote.
“For these workers, faster access to earnings isn’t just a convenience — it’s a stabilizer that keeps local economies humming, consumer demand steady and financial stress at bay,” that report said.
PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster spoke earlier this year with Simon Khalaf, WorkWhile’s chief operating officer, about the company’s mission to drive a shift in how employers and employees think about hourly work.
He said that WorkWhile isn’t focused solely on matching available workers with shift openings, but about matching them with jobs based on who they are, what they can do and what’s needed at that exact moment.
As Khalaf puts it: “You’re not just a cook. You’re a cook who knows how to prepare lamb with Mediterranean spices, using a Viking oven, with two sous chefs.”
