Over the years that we've been working to improve financial wellbeing for workers, we've heard concerns about whether being able to access pay as you earn it is safe, such as:

"What if I take too much money?"

"Surely people will just spend it all at the pub and not pay their bills."

"This seems irresponsible!"

It definitely might seem like a pretty radical idea at first, however, current research shows that flexible pay is a safe and powerful tool to aid in budgeting and healthy finances. In particular, 78% of Wagestream users report that they spend less and budget more than they did prior to using Wagestream, and of that group, 82% state that their improved financial habits are directly due to using Wagestream.

Some of their experiences include:

• "I can pay bills on time, so no more late penalties."

• "More focus on my finances; the app has taught me to budget better."

• "I use the shopping vouchers."

• "I can pay bills [...] when they come up so I budget better for those things and my pay lasts longer."

• "I can see how much I have earned and how that compares to my time spent working; this makes me more aware of the value of items and I spend less on unnecessary things as a result."

• "I know I can access additional funds if needed therefore don’t need to worry about stretching my monthly wage which causes less stress & less panic buying."

• "By being able to see my pay and having the option for some of it to be put aside without ever touching my bank account, I have become much better at saving and budgeting."

If you're unsure whether flexible pay will fit with how you want to manage your money, you can choose to set your own structured plan for it or simply not use it at all! It's just one of many features we offer to encourage financial resilience.