MOUNTAINSIDE, NEW JERSEY January 11, 2013. FlexWage Solutions announced increased demand for its payroll card services as well as its WageBank employee financial empowerment solution for the underbanked. “We’re thrilled to continue our growth and client acquisition objectives for the fourth quarter, making 2012 a breakthrough year,” said Frank Dombroski, CEO. “WageBank is helping drive employee adoption of payroll cards, delighting employees and employers.”
“We can see that an improving employment picture, primarily with low-wage workers, is making FlexWage’s WageBank even more critical to an employer’s benefits package,” said Dennis Sullivan, Vice President. FlexWage’s WageBank has revolutionized the payroll card sector, adding access to accrued wages, which frees employees from using payday loans and paying check cashing fees. “We’re helping employees get out of, and stay out of, predatory debt,” Sullivan said.
FlexWage Solutions offers medium and large company payroll card services as well as its proprietary WageBank employee financial empowerment tools to access earned wages in advance of payday. The WageBank tools are available both on the web and with tailored mobile applications for Apple and Android devices. FlexWage Solutions’ products are available at FlexWage.com.
Founded by a number of longtime commercial payment and purchasing card executives, FlexWage Solutions was born out of the belief that “unbanked employees’ exploitation by payday loan and check cashing operators could be solved with technology more quickly than with legislation,” Dombroski said. “We believe that our FlexWage and WageBank solutions are the missing link, providing socially responsible financial services and eliminating the need for employees to visit predatory lenders between paydays.”
According to the Pew Safe Small-Dollar Loans Research Project, 2012, payday loan borrowers pay fees of approximately $7.4 billion annually at 20,000 storefronts and hundreds of websites. Sixty-nine percent of borrowers use payday loans to cover ordinary living expenses as opposed to unexpected emergencies. Sixteen percent turn to these predatory products in emergencies, keeping them indebted for five months a year. The average payday borrower takes eight loans a year, spending up to $895 for a $325 loan, according to Pew.
More information on Pew’s Small Dollar Loans Research is available at:
http://www.pewtrusts.org/