Earned wage access startup PayActiv closed $100 million today for its technology that helps companies offer their employees their pay on a daily basis rather than wait for their bi-weekly paycheck.
The Series C round was led by Eldridge and includes existing investors Generation Partners and the Ziegler Link•Age Fund II. The investment brings PayActiv’s total funding to $134 million.
The company will use the funds to expand its client base, which currently consists of 1,400+ businesses and organizations representing more than four million employees. Walmart, Wayfair, and Ibex Global are some of the major employers in PayActiv’s portfolio.
“American families are facing more financial stress than they have in generations,” said PayActiv CEO and Co-Founder Safwan Shah. “The timing gap between work and wages is the main reason workers get hit with punitive late fees, overdraft fees and other penalties. Cumulatively, these fees reduce wages by seven percent every month. The PayActiv platform is the only system where everyone wins: employers lift worker morale with little to no cost and huge dividends; employees get wages when they actually need them most; and cash re-enters the economy faster, making communities financially healthier.”
PayActiv was founded in 2011 and has emerged as a major financial wellness tool for employers. In addition to offering flexibility around how frequently employees receive payment, PayActiv also gives employees multiple options of how they receive payment. Workers can opt for direct cash pickup, a PayActiv prepaid card, an instant Visa or Mastercard debit card load, an ACH payment, or use their wages to pay bills, make purchases on Amazon, or purchase rides on Uber.
The company also offers financial wellness and planning tools that help employees to save, budget, and manage their money. Additionally, PayActiv announced today that it will offer employers a retirement benefit in partnership with Security Benefit, a retirement services provider based in Kansas.
Demand for earned wage access tools are on the rise, especially in today’s post-COVID economy. Sending employees their paychecks on a daily basis can help them avoid overdraft fees and high interest financing options such as payday loans and credit card debt.
“The future of pay is not a two-week cycle,” said Eldridge Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO Todd Boehly. “By simply giving people access to their wages as they earn them, PayActiv increases the velocity of money, stimulating the economy and serving employers and employees by driving costs down and efficiencies up.”
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