A fintech with a social conscience is using the NPP to facilitate payments focused on enabling ‘financial wellness’. Earnd’s business model allows employers to provide their employees access to their income as they earn it in real-time, negating the need to use payday lenders.
Founded in April 2018, Earnd integrates with an organisation’s payroll and attendance systems so employees can request payment for work completed up until a particular point in time, via a mobile app. The real-time ‘pre-payday’ payment is provided by Earnd, and once payday arrives, the employer deducts the early withdrawal amount from the employee’s paycheck and then pays this deducted amount back to Earnd.
According to one of the founders Josh Vernon, Earnd allows people to take greater control of their finances, eliminating the need to turn to emergency cash loans, such as those offered by payday lenders with high interest rates.
“When you find yourself in a situation where you struggle between paydays, your options are limited. You should be able to access your income as you’ve accrued it rather than having to turn to expensive payday lenders.
“Giving access to pay that has already been earned has the potential to fix the spiralling debt cycles linked to current financial products. There is a clear need for quick access to funds in times of crisis, but there is a lack of safe and fair platforms facilitating this,” he said.
Backed by NAB Ventures and a group of high-profile individuals from within the payments space, Earnd currently accesses the NPP via the National Australia Bank. According to Josh the Platform is a vital part of the Fintech’s value proposition.
“The NPP has been absolutely key to our service given we want to empower people to access what’s theirs in a time-critical way. We were recently able to support an individual out of a domestic violence situation and if it wasn’t for the instant access we wouldn’t have been able to support them in such an incredible way.”
And while there are obvious benefits for individuals, Josh says Earnd also ultimately helps employers with their bottom line.
“Research proves that employers who support their staff with tools such as flexible pay, benefit from tangible upticks in productivity, morale and retention,” he said.
For more information about Earnd visit www.earnd.com