This report offers a perspective on the On-Demand Pay market, the broad range of needs it can address for consumers and the benefits it can generate for employers. On-Demand Pay offerings enable employees to better align income and expenses by accessing a portion of their accrued wages, in advance of pay day, with the remaining portion paid at the end of the pay period. Unlike salary-based lending or payday loans, On-Demand Pay does not involve borrowing on the part of the employee, and usually carries little to no cost.

• Across OECD countries, we estimate that a total of approximately $1 trillion is accrued in employer payroll accounts on any given day. This gives a prominent role for employers, and On-Demand Pay providers, to provide employees access to this liquidity and, in so doing, create meaningful societal utility at limited frictional cost.

• The main use case for On-Demand Pay is that of everyday financial pressures, which we have found to be widespread: 70% of individuals in the UK and US experience financial stress regularly. Half of these individuals have faced a financial shortfall between pay periods and encounter this issue approximately every four months.

• The negative impacts for individuals are considerable: nearly 75% of those who have experienced financial difficulties have reported material deterioration in their health and wellbeing.

• When this stress is carried into the work environment it manifests as distraction, absenteeism, reduced performance and ultimately employee turnover. 20% of employee turnover is attributable to financial stress and we estimate the combined effect of this to cost employers in the US and the UK c.$300bn annually.

• Our research points to three main causes of financial shortfalls, which ultimately translate into diminished financial wellbeing: emergencies, limited savings, and timing mismatches between income and expenses.