MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – April 8, 2011 – FlexWage Solutions LLC (FlexWage) and 1-800 CONTACTS announced the rollout of WageBank, a unique benefit that enables employees to access earned wages in advance of scheduled payday.
By combining the best features of payroll cards with WageBank, FlexWage has solved the problem faced by millions of U.S. employees who are underserved by mainstream financial institutions. This population encompasses approximately 40 million U.S. households and 70 million adults. When faced with a financial emergency they have been forced to resort to payday or other “alternative” loans and have been overwhelmed with late payment and overdraft fees. Americans spend roughly $20 billion annually on alternative financial services and in 2009 were charged $38.5 billion in overdraft and insufficient funds fees.
Max Neves, Vice President, Administration at 1-800 CONTACTS states, “We are very pleased to offer WageBank to our associates. 1-800 CONTACTS provides a wide range of benefits, including many non-traditional benefits, to our associates. We have reviewed several different companies who offer payday loan/debit card programs and we were not comfortable with what they offered. FlexWage provides the best alternative to payday loans at a lower cost to both associates and 1-800 CONTACTS. We believe in providing compelling physical and financial wellness solutions to our employees and their feedback on this new program has been tremendously positive.”
Frank Dombroski, President and Chief Executive Officer of FlexWage stated:“We are very excited to be working with 1-800 CONTACTS and Visa to bring this unique solution to market. Millions of U.S. workers do not have access to credit, and frequently struggle to deal with short term financial emergencies. They often turn to payday loan companies and other alternative financial services whose high fees create a difficult-to-escape debt trap. With average APRs exceeding 500%, predatory loans create tremendous financial hardship and stress and have recently come under significant regulatory pressure. We now offer a unique, compelling alternative.”
Employers realize significant savings in payroll cost as the FlexWage solution drives adoption of electronic pay, eliminating the expense and hassle of paper paychecks. Further, by reducing financial stress, FlexWage increases employee productivity and satisfaction, providing employees with timely, secure access to their wages and the convenience of using their FlexWage card wherever Visa debit cards are accepted.
“This is a rare opportunity to combine an outstanding social mission with a commercial enterprise. The market response to FlexWage has eclipsed our expectations” Dombroski recounted. “We are also finding that WageBank is a natural and high impact addition to the “Financial Wellness” programs being implemented by more and more companies”
About FlexWage
FlexWage® Solutions LLC is a payroll card company dedicated to providing financial resources to employers and employees via its patent pending WageBank solution. FlexWage offers the industry’s only solution that provides employees reasonable access to earned wages in advance of their scheduled payday. Through its products, FlexWage helps improve quality of life for employees, employee productivity and minimizes expense and environmental impact by reducing paper-based payroll delivery. The company is headquartered in Mountainside, NJ. Learn more at www.flexwage.com.