Israeli fintech company, PayKey, is in advance talks with leading local banks to launch the first Earned Wage Access (EWA) app in the Philippines early next year.

EWA allows workers instant access to their earned income before payday and has been used in the west countries for some time.

In 2017, Walmart USA decided to implement EWA for all its workers with the help of an external fintech company.

PayKey developed an end-to-end, white-labeled EWA solution that local banks can offer corporate clients so employers can include it as a benefit to Filipino workers.

PayKey said it works with many leading banks worldwide to develop a stand-alone app and is now working with some of the top local banks to allow this solution to their cooperate accounts.

EWA gives employees access to their accrued salaries on any given day of the month so that they can use it to pay any immediate expense if they wish in seconds, in a click of a button.

“People get paid once or twice a month on payday, and it’s been like this for many years. It’s a very outdated way of looking at how salaries are paid,” noted Roy Gabriel, chief innovation officer and general manager of PayKey.

“If they need money to pay bills and other unanticipated expenses, especially in the new normal, they need to ask for an advance from their employers, borrow from family and friends, or take a loan from external lenders, which can get stressful and painful,” said Gabriel.

“All these happen because they’re waiting for their payday even if they already have worked and earned their money. Employees have this money but cannot access it even when they need it. It’s a very archaic way of looking at employees and salaries and, we want to change that by empowering them through EWA,” he added.

If an employer offers EWA to his employees, their staff can simply go into the app to see how much money they earned to date.

Then, they can request an advance on salary via the app.

Since PakyKey’s EWA feature allows them to transfer the funds to their linked bank account immediately, they can expect the money to be credited as soon as the payment has been confirmed.

“Everyone earns with EWA. The employer gets a happier, more productive worker, the employee feels less stress and is taking control over his life, and the bank gets to offer a new product in the salary arena. This is an area where we did not see any innovation in such a long time,” Gabriel pointed out.