PayActiv and Visa get in early for wages
PayActiv’s campaign to transform traditional payroll and help workers get access to earned pay when they need it just won a big new ally, reports David Penn at Finovate.
The PayActiv Visa Prepaid Card is a “game changer”
The company is partnering with Visa and will leverage the company’s Visa Direct real-time push payments platform to enable PayActiv’s partner businesses to offer real-time deposits. Earned wages for employees of PayActiv partners will be available in real-time via a Visa debit or reloadable prepaid card – and PayActiv is offering its own branded Visa Prepaid Card for the occasion.
“With financial stress our industry needed earning enlightenment,” PayActiv CEO Safwan Shah says. “The PayActiv Visa Prepaid Card is exactly that – a game changer and a win-win solution. Employers can get better retention, recruitment and engagement, and employees can get on a path of holistic financial wellness with timely access to their earned but unpaid wages.”
PayActiv said that the use of its Visa Prepaid Card can help employees avoid fees that might otherwise lower take-home pay by as much as $200 a month. Accepted anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, the PayActiv Visa Prepaid card has no monthly fees, no fees for loading earned wages on the card, and no cardholder fees when transacting with US merchants or making cash withdrawals from MoneyPass ATMs.
“Visa Direct is helping to power a fundamental shift in how employees access wages they have already earned, outside of the traditional two-week payroll cycle,” SVP for global commercialisation of Visa Direct Cecilia Frew says.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Jose, California, PayActiv announced a partnership with Walmart last fall/autumn, adding the retail giant to the number of locations where PayActiv employee members can access earned wages in cash. Also last fall, PayActiv scored a $20 million investment in a Series B round led by Generation Partners that doubled the company’s total funding.
Visa, which celebrated its 60th birthday last year, has a market capitalisation of $330 billion.
