Earned Wage Access (EWA): The new employee benefit programme in Pakistan

Abhi, a fintech company founded in 2021, has introduced a tech-based solution to help salaried people manage their emergency expenses in real-time. This Earned Wage Access (EWA) or On-Demand Pay service, AbhiSalary, enables salaried employees of the startup’s partner companies to withdraw the salary advances based on their accrued wages at any time before payday to cover their unplanned expenses.

As the fintech funds these salary advances from its own resources, it does not affect the partner employers’ cash flows and balance sheets, and repayment is deducted automatically from the employee’s salary on payday. The service can be accessed via the startup’s mobile app or SMS or WhatsApp feature, with a flat Rs100 per transaction fee.

The EWA solution can significantly impact workers’ financial well-being, helping them to cover their expenses more efficiently, reduce financial stress, and improve their overall quality of life. It also offers several advantages to both employees and employers, such as employee retention, reduced absenteeism, and lower administrative burden associated with traditional payroll systems.

Abhi has so far onboarded nearly 400 small to large companies from various sectors, with total salaried employees of close to 800,000, a quarter of whom are active users of the startup’s facility. The company has already raised $21 million in funding for the expansion of its operations and plans to tap the UAE and Bangladesh markets in the future.

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