TrustPlus’ Post

“If you are an HR leader who offers Earned Wage Access (or is considering offering EWA) and you aren’t operating under the assumption that your employees will need a product where there are zero fees, you need to get prepared…like now,” says fintech entrepreneur Jason Lee. In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a historic interpretive rule which has the potential to upend the EWA market. And with it, whatever EWA offering you make available to your workers. Employer-partnered EWA providers sent over 83 million payments to employees in 2022, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with more than 90% of workers paying at least one fee. Under the proposed rule, EWA products would be subject to the Truth in Lending Act, which requires disclosure upfront of all fees. Workers would see EWA fees expressed as an APR, like credit-card interest rates. The typical Earned-Wage-Access user pays fees that amount to a 109.5% APR, per CFPB. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation finds such fees to be more than 330% for the average user. Meanwhile, the Center for Responsible Lending says, the average APR for a repaid payroll advance in 7 to 14 days is 367%, almost the same as a typical payday loan APR (400%). How’s that for number salad? The point is Earned-Wage-Access costs can add up for your workers, regardless of what we call the products, regulatorily speaking. It’s inaccurate to call Earned Wage Access a loan or an advance since it grants workers access to money they’ve already earned, says Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council, a trade group representing earned-wage-access providers, per CNBC: “I would resemble it closer to utilizing an ATM machine and getting charged a fee…You can’t utilize a methodology like APR to determine the appropriate costs for a product like this.” Mitria Wilson Spotser, vice president and federal policy director at the Center for Responsible Lending, tells CNBC the proposed rule doesn't ban fees: “It merely requires them to disclose it…You have to ask yourself, why is the industry so afraid to disclose that they’re charging these fees?” Whether CFPB revises its proposed Earned-Wage-Access rule or not, as Spencer Hulse puts it in Financial Tech Times: “…it’s clear that we’re heading in the direction of zero-fee EWA in the not-too-distant future.” What do you think, employers? ❔ Does EWA = loan? ❔ Are you prepared to adapt, whether regulators or market forces force your hand? Let us know in the comments. And note the CFPB is soliciting comments from the public until Aug. 30. We dive deeper in our latest article, link in first comment. #financialwellness #benefits #employers #smallbusiness

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