On-demand pay: What employers need to know

Offering employees the opportunity to receive pay daily, versus weekly or biweekly, can introduce some real challenges to a business. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Movies, food, transport, and more—with just a few clicks in an app, we have access to a seemingly infinite amount of goods and services on-demand. With the ever-prescient forecasters of what the people want next, getting paid probably should have been the number one guess. Specifically, giving employees faster access to their pay by letting them request and receive all or part of their earned pay after they’ve completed the shift.

With a staggering 78 percent of U.S. workers living paycheck to paycheck, it’s no surprise that on-demand pay is swiftly growing in popularity. Advantages such as covering emergency expenses, reducing debt and staying on top of finances entice skilled talent to join companies that offer this practice. And employers can reap the benefits, as well: other than attracting top-quality talent, on-demand pay can help retain it, reduce absences and increase productivity.