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The feature, which allows employees to access part of their wages as they earn them, launched in the UK in August.
Revolut has today (23 September) announced the release of its ‘earned wage access’ feature in Ireland.
Payday, which launched in the UK just over a month ago, allows customers to access a portion of their wages proportional to what they’ve earned, before their normal pay day. It costs users a flat fee of €1.75 per withdrawal and is only available at participating workplaces.
Revolut described Payday as a “lower-cost alternative to high-cost credit cards or payday loans” that will have “no impact on an employee’s credit score”.
It said that companies don’t have to pay to use Payday, but that it would be an “attractive perk to attract and retain employees”. It added that Revolut’s platform can be integrated with existing payroll systems.
Employers that offer Payday still only have to pay wages at the end of the week or month, with Revolut covering the cost between employees withdrawing money and the time when they’d usually be paid.
One of the first businesses participating in the programme in Ireland is Spectrum Life, which provides wellbeing services to employers such as Accenture, Microsoft, Vodafone and Laya Healthcare. Payday will now be offered as part of Spectrum Life’s service package.
Stephen Costello, founder and CEO of Spectrum Life, commented: “Our coaches and clinicians regularly encounter incidents where financial concerns have contributed to the stress, anxiety or mental health issues that a person is dealing with when they engage our services.
“Providing employees with greater financial flexibility via modern-day solutions, such as Payday by Revolut, can help alleviate some of the financial challenges an employee may be facing.”
Revolut plans to roll the Payday feature out across more EEA countries in the coming months, as well as in the US.
UK consumer watchdog Which? has recently published guidance on how to “safely” use salary access features such as Payday.
Neobanks and payment providers are increasingly seeking to distinguish themselves with novel financial products, especially ‘buy now, pay later’ services. Revolut is planning to enter this market and its UK competitor Monzo released such a feature last week.
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