Breaking Free: How Earned Wage Access is Changing Lives in South Africa
Themba is walking down the corridor, her stomach in knots. She can’t meet the eyes of passing colleagues – they all know what she’s about to do. A few more steps and she joins the line of employees waiting outside the HR office, all with faces downturned like hers. Eventually it’s her turn to stand before the HR director, sitting with raised eyebrows before Themba even speaks. Themba feels small standing before this woman. And she knows – her salary advance isn’t getting approved this time. But her daughter is sick again, so Themba must ask anyway.
This story is painfully familiar to many South African workers. Low wages, spatial apartheid and lack of affordable financing mean many turn to loan sharks when a financial crisis happens. But now, Themba has an alternative. Thanks to Earned Wage Access (EWA), she’s broken free from the cycle of predatory lending.
This transformation isn’t unique to Themba. A recent study by research house 60 Decibels, examining the impact of EWA provider Paymenow, reveals a quiet revolution in how South African workers manage their finances. The concept is simple but powerful: instead of waiting for month-end, workers can access wages they’ve already earned. It’s not a loan – it’s their own money, available when they need it most.
The impact of this simple shift has been profound. One Paymenow user who works in care explained how the app “helps [her] pay for [her] children’s school fees, transport to go to work and transport for [her] children for school”. The impact report found this trend among 86% of Paymenow users, who all reported using the app to pay for transport at least twice a month. In fact, 90% of users said they would have borrowed money if not for Paymenow, which reflects the outstanding 90% of users who 90% of users report a better quality of life, and 75% which have increased their savings.
Managers have noticed changes as well, with 40% saying absenteeism has decreased since implementing Paymenow. As one payroll administrator noted, staff now “are always at work on time and not really worried about […] transport to work or money during the month.” For employers, the benefits extend beyond improved attendance. HR managers report spending less time helping employees with financial emergencies.
The transformation goes deeper than just financial metrics. Workers report feeling more dignified, more in control of their lives. As one user put it, “before Paymenow, loan sharks took advantage of us and we had to choose but to borrow money from them [but now] I can just withdraw from Paymenow.”
The high satisfaction rates – with Net Promoter Scores of 72 for employees and 81 for employers – suggest this isn’t just another financial product. It’s a fundamental reimagining of how people should be paid for their work. As South Africa continues to grapple with financial inclusion challenges, EWA offers a practical path forward.
Looking ahead, the implications are significant. As one financial wellness expert observed, “We’re seeing a shift in how people think about payday. The monthly salary cycle was an arbitrary construct that didn’t serve everyone well. EWA returns control to workers while maintaining financial discipline.”
For people like Themba in South Africa, the impact is immediate and personal. She’s part of a growing community of workers finding their way to financial stability, one earned wage access at a time. Their stories suggest that sometimes, the most powerful financial innovations aren’t about creating new money – they’re about helping people better access what they’ve already earned.