Payday Too Far Away? This Service Will Give You Your Salary in Advance
For many employees, the 15th and the 30th—or whenever their payroll accounts are refilled with their salaries—are their favorite days of the month. Their pay may not be the highest in the world, but it’s something every employee looks forward to every month.
Still, the two-week gap between payouts may be too long a wait for some, since they may need their salaries sooner for a number of reasons.
That’s where Advance comes in.
“Advance is a digital lending platform that provides sachet financial services (microloans) to underbanked and underserved Filipinos instantly,” says Jaime de los Angeles, the financial technology (fintech) startup’s co-founder and CEO. “We work closely with employers to offer their employees access to financial products, allowing them to essentially advance their payday today.”
On-demand loans for all
When a company is enrolled in Advance’s platform, employees are able to request a cash advance of up to 50% of their next salary. These requests are then reviewed and approved almost instantly, with their requested funds being credited directly to their payroll account.
The cash advance is deducted directly from the next salary payout, which means employees won’t be hassled about the process of repayment. Advance doesn’t put an interest on the loan—instead, it charges a small processing fee for each transaction.
All these make the platform an easy and seamless way for employees to borrow money responsibly.
“Because we're offering something flexible, it actually helps in promoting financial responsibility because our borrowers draw only what they need and are no longer pressured to over-extend themselves,” said de los Angeles.
It’s been good business for de los Angeles’ team so far. Since it was established last September, Advance is already serving several companies with a total employee base of 200,000, estimating that a third of those employees are using the fintech’s services regularly. Most of these companies have workforces that number in the thousands, but de los Angeles says that they also serve their fellow SMEs.
“All of [them] benefit from the same Advance experience, regardless of company size,” he added.
Future plans
The CEO is optimistic about his startup’s future, and says that with the traction it’s gained in the past few months, Advance is on its way to becoming a go-to name for on-demand financial services.
De Los Angeles revealed his team is already gearing up to expand its offerings beyond salary advances. While he didn’t specify what types of services they’re looking to offer, he did say the company will focus on providing credit to businesses and that it’s slated to launch by the second quarter of the year.
“Because of the positive traction we've seen and increased interest in the market, we realized we could do so much more,” he said. “My team and I have our sights set on delivering value as a fintech credit provider that goes well beyond salary loans.”
