Earned Wage Access
Financial wellness platform enabling employees to access earned wages before payday, with instant mobile money disbursements.
Problem
Employees living paycheck to paycheck were stuck waiting for payday while bills piled up. When emergencies hit, they turned to expensive loans or predatory lenders. The traditional pay cycle doesn’t match real life.
Worse, many workers in East Africa don’t have smartphones or reliable internet. They couldn’t use existing apps even if they wanted to.
Solution
We built a platform that lets employees access money they’ve already earned—before payday arrives.
For Employees
- Check your earned balance anytime
- Withdraw what you need, when you need it
- Money arrives on your phone instantly via M-Pesa
- Works on any phone through USSD menus—no smartphone required
For Employers
- Simple dashboard to manage employees
- Upload your team via spreadsheet
- Track usage and generate invoices
- Automatic payroll deductions—no extra work
For Everyone
- No interest charges (small flat fee instead)
- No credit checks required
- Available 24/7, including weekends
Process
We started by understanding both sides: what employees actually needed and what employers could realistically manage.
The USSD interface was critical. We built it using our own engine (Conduit) so workers with basic phones could do everything—check balances, request withdrawals, reset PINs—all through simple menus.
For employers, we focused on making it invisible. Upload employees once, open each pay period, and let the system handle the rest. Invoices generate automatically. Deductions calculate automatically.
The M-Pesa integration needed to be rock-solid. Money had to arrive in seconds, every time. We built retry logic and monitoring so failed payments get caught and fixed immediately.
Results
For Employees
- Access to funds within seconds of requesting
- No more emergency loans or predatory lenders
- Financial breathing room between paychecks
For Employers
- Reduced salary advance requests
- Improved employee retention
- Zero manual work after initial setup
Platform Performance
- Instant disbursements via M-Pesa
- 99.9% uptime
- Works on any phone, any network
Team: 2 engineers, 1 designer · Timeline: 4 months initial build
Stack: Rails, PostgreSQL, Redis · Integrations: M-Pesa, SMS, Slack