Payactiv - Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year

Company: Payactiv, San Jose, CA
Company Description: Payactiv, a certified B Corp, is the leading provider of Earned Wage Access. Offering a comprehensive financial wellness platform, Payactiv improves how employees earn, access, and use wages to enhance their livelihoods. Payactiv is the first and only EWA provider whose program has been approved as a non-credit product by the CFPB.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - At Organizations With Up to 100 Employees

Nomination Title: Payactiv, Financial Wellness in Times of Crisis

Payactiv frees people from debt so they can live the life they’ve earned. We believe that people and economies flourish when everyone is able to fully participate. Moved by the fact that nearly 90M people live paycheck to paycheck in America, and 25% are without the means to maintain a bank account, we decided to act.

Starting with a radical idea, a passion for helping others, and a single ATM machine, we invented Earned Wage Access (EWA), flipping the script on traditional pay cycles. Before EWA, workers could only bridge the gap between needing money and getting paid with late/overdraft fees and payday loans. Instead, we provide timely access to money, when they need it - improving how they earn, access, and use wages. Users have gained $240M in savings by avoiding overdrafts, payday loans, and late fees.

Today we go beyond EWA with our Livelihood Platform, building a Financial Wellness ecosystem to empower some of America’s hardest workers to navigate life’s ups and downs. With tools like intuitive budgeting, goal-based savings, integrated bill pay, and a discount marketplace, paired with business-boosting products like card solutions, electronic tip disbursement, and incentive programs, we’ve reimagined modern banking for the modern workforce.

We put people first at Payactiv, that’s why we created the lowest pricing model in the fintech industry. Our EWA transactions have no interest, recurring or late fees, credit reporting, or collection. When the pandemic hit, we continued to put people first and our users rewarded us with loyalty. We were able to mitigate financial and economic stressors in users' lives by waiving our fees, and started a foundation in which we raised millions of dollars for workers and families.Payactiv surveyed employees in March 2020 and found that 46% of people were more concerned about losing their income than they were concerned about their health.In December 2020, Payactiv conducted a survey asking users if Payactiv was helpful during the last year (2020), to which 47% of respondents said they “couldn’t live without it.”

Payactiv is the only EWA provider whose program has been approved as a non-credit product by the CFPB, per a December 2020 ruling.

As we continue growing, we strive to continue being a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people, and using business as a force for good. As a B Corp, Payactiv holds itself to the highest standards of transparency and accountability to balance profit and purpose.

By the end of 2020, Payactiv had served over 2M users, and settled over $5B across more than 1,500 businesses. Employees used the funds for food, transportation, and bills.

In March 2020, Payactiv waived its fees for millions of lower-income and hourly workers. After which, we created our Access Freedom service, where users can continue to access services for free.

After waiving our fees for users, we started the Payactiv ACCESS Foundation. This nonprofit organization launched in 2020 and raised more than $5M with 100% of donations going directly to workers and families during trying times.

Through our partnership with OnShift, we introduced a financial relief program to assist over 175,000 post-acute care and senior living employees.

At the onset of the pandemic, New York City asked their out-of-work taxi drivers to deliver food, medicine, and provisions to those across the city in need. However, NYC did not have the means to directly deposit money into their accounts. While we are not typically a payroll provider, we partnered with the city and took on the challenge. Every Wednesday, we deposited $7,000 directly into the drivers accounts.

In December 2020, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an approval order confirming that Payactiv’s EWA Program is not credit and therefore is exempt from the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z rules governing creditors. Payactiv is the only EWA provider to have secured such a company-specific approval.

We are the only B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation in our industry, meaning we have an obligation to balance purpose and profit, and consider the impact of our decisions on our workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.

The combined elements of our CFPB approval, B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation standing, and our Access Foundation propels Payactiv beyond others in our industry and creates a level of trust and obligation among users, clients, and partners alike.

- The COVID-19 Survey Report shows the impact COVID had on American workers and how our platform has helped workers survive financially this last year (attached)
-Payactiv Provides Free Liquidity for Workers During Crisis - https://www.payactiv.com/press-release/payactiv-provides-free-liquidity-for-workers-during-crisis/
-Resuscitating America; What we learned by serving millions of essential workers during 2020- https://www.payactiv.com/resuscitating-america-payactiv-impact-2020/
-Access Foundation - https://payactivfoundation.org/about/
-The CFPB Approval Press Release shows how -(attached) https://payactivfoundation.org/about/

Payactiv’s Earned Wage Access (EWA) becomes the first and only program with an approval order from the CFPB
https://www.payactiv.com/press-release/payactiv-provides-free-liquidity-for-workers-during-crisis/
https://www.payactiv.com/resuscitating-america-payactiv-impact-2020/
https://payactivfoundation.org/about/