Earnin is Reinventing Payday

May 22, 2019

Most Americans believe we live in a country with quality medical care—and have long considered it to be the best in the world. However, the reality is that life expectancy is declining as healthcare costs are rising; so, it’s no surprise that it’s becoming more and more expensive to afford medical care. Relying on personal savings or insurance may not even be enough to pay off expensive medical bills. As a result, 41% of working age Americans have medical bill problems or are paying off medical debt, up from 34% in 2005. For many, a costly medical bill is all it takes to trigger financial ruin as it is now the number one cause of personal bankruptcy. What’s worse is that people may just forego doctor’s visits to avoid the burden of medical expenses.

May 22, 2019

Plenty of folks get hit with hefty and unexpected medical bills they have a hard time paying. Earnin, a Palo Alto, California-based startup, thinks it can help.

The company, which already offers customers an alternative to high-interest payday loans, on Wednesday introduced a new service called HealthAid. It lets people take pictures of their medical bills and load them into Earnin's app. From there, the startup's team, which is trained in medical billing, will negotiate with doctors and hospitals for lower bills or installment payments. These workers will also try to line up financial aid through a medical provider if a patient qualifies.

May 22, 2019

Earnin, a community-supported financial platform, is launching two new products – HealthAid and Cash Back Rewards – as part of its mission to give people the tools to take control of their financial future. Medical bills – especially unexpected ones – are one of the most likely reasons people end up in financial trouble. Forty-one percent (41%) of working-age Americans have medical bill problems or are paying off medical debt, up from thirty-four (34%) percent in 2005. In the United States, just $5002 in unexpected bills can lead to bankruptcy and medical debt is the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy.

December 20, 2018

Before Ram Palaniappan founded Earnin, he developed a system for employees at a payments company called UniRush, where he spent eight years as president. If you needed money before payday, he would write you a check from his checking account and when payday rolled around, employees would reimburse him.

December 20, 2018

Earnin, an app that allows anyone with a job and a bank account to get paid the minute they leave work, announced today the close of a $125 million round of equity financing from DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, March Capital Partners, Coatue Management and Ribbit Capital.

December 5, 2018

Fintech start-up Earnin is looking to put an end to the two-week pay cycle, and put money into workers pockets at a faster rate. The company's CEO, Ram Palaniappan, explains his strategy for reinventing how employees get paid.

December 17, 2018

Wouldn't it be nice to have Christmas money now from the paycheck you'll get next week? A new app claims to do exactly that.

October 18, 2018

The current system is broken for those who most need it to work, but Earnin is one of the few companies trying to do something about it.

November 09, 2017

Withdraw small amounts from what you’ve already earned before payday — no wait, no fees and no interest.

November 01, 2017

Activehours, the mobile app that gives people access to their pay directly from their smartphones, whenever they need it, has rebranded as Earnin. Earnin users – employees from more than 25,000 companies – are seeing its new name, logo, app and website starting today.

November 23, 2016

Activehours is an app that lets you draw small amounts of your check before payday. To learn more about whether Activehours is a good fit for you, read on.

November 14, 2016

Instead of having to wait for a weekly paycheck Sears' associates are now able to access pay the day they earn it.

November 14, 2016

Activehours and Shop Your Way, a business unit of Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD), announced a strategic partnership today that integrates the Shop Your Way rewards program into the Activehours mobile application.

October 26, 2016

Activehours, the company that helps people get their pay when they want it, today announced it has integrated with the new Uber® driver API to give driver partners quick access to their earnings.

November 24, 2015

This “pay-what-you-want” (PWYW) model can be traced back to the earliest street performers, and it entered mainstream consciousness in 2007 in conjunction with the release of Radiohead’s 7th album...

November 12, 2015

At a time when the industry is moving towards faster payments, a handful of entrepreneurs are looking to narrow the gap between an honest day's work and an honest day's pay...

October 21, 2015

Payday lending is one of the most usurious ways to borrow money imaginable. The industry is scandalous to the point that many states have regulated it so heavily that lenders have actually exited certain markets...

July 15, 2015

Most on-demand companies are focused on creating greater efficiency for employers, not employees. But Activehours hopes to buck that trend, making payday as flexible as the future of work is supposed to be...

July 13, 2015

As employment opportunities abound and workers aim to find life balance, corporate wellness programs (and those companies that offer them) are gaining appeal for job seekers. Google offers...

June 19, 2015

The financial services industry in America is locked into a business model of exploitation. For far too long, this has gone largely unchecked and unquestioned, even when advances in technology...

June 15, 2015

Today’s consumers are all about instant gratification. But most workers still have to wait two weeks between paychecks. The Activehours app allows hourly workers or on-demand workers like Uber drivers to submit a photo of their online or electronic time sheet, or trip summaries, in the case of drivers. They can then request the money that they have earned but haven’t yet been paid.

March 16, 2015

American workers have gotten used to getting paid every two weeks, but ActiveHours is trying to turn that custom on its head. The lag time between work completed and pay received causes financial concerns for thousands of Americans every day. With ActiveHours, employees can "unlock" their earnings and cash in their hours in as soon as they've completed their shifts...

November 11, 2014

A pay-what-you-want investing service? Yes, it's here--and it's hardly the only business bold (crazy?) enough to all customers to pay whatever they feel is appropriate, even $0...

Waiting two weeks for payday is a pain. Isn’t there a better way?

According to startup Activehours, the answer is yes. Their app lets you withdraw money from your paycheck before payday rolls around. You plug in some info about your job and bank account, request a portion of your earnings, and it’s wired to you the next day. It’s free, too—the service simply suggests you “tip” it whatever you think is reasonable. On payday, Activehours withdraws the same amount you were advanced (plus any tip that you authorized) from your bank account.

Payday lenders aren’t the most scrupulous of operations. Preying on the desperation of people who don’t have enough money to make it to their next payday, these lenders dole out short-term loans with exorbitant interest rates, forcing already cash-strapped customers deeper into debt. And while many have tried to reform the payday lending industry, we’re still awaiting the right answer.

Ram Palaniappan has a new approach. He wants to solve the problem at its root, by eradicating the payday altogether.

Sometimes, you just need a few dollars between paychecks. About the only options for someone with bad credit is to borrow from a friend or family member or take out a high-interest payday loan. A new app-based service called Activehours offers another way. It gives you access to your pay as you earn it.

Last fall, Stephen Prentice found himself short on money for rent after his girlfriend moved out. He was wary of using a payday lender, having incurred big fees using one previously. Instead, he said, he used a new service called Activehours to get an advance on his biweekly paycheck to help tide him over.

Sometimes payday can't come early enough. Bills come too soon or an emergency occurs and you need money you don't have. Advanced paycheck services allow you to get your money sooner, but they generally come at a high cost. ActiveHours provides you with your paycheck when you want it, and they won't charge you a cent.

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 15, 2015) - In a display of continuing momentum, Activehours, the app that allows workers to create a flexible payday schedule, is announcing a partnership with Processing Point, Inc., the maker of two highly regarded time clock brands, uAttend and uPunch. This partnership will enable hundreds of thousands of workers to seamlessly access their wages without having to wait for payday.

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 15, 2015) - The No. 1 financial resource workers wish their employers would offer is a flexible payday. This is according to a new survey of more than 300 consumers in the U.S. conducted on behalf of Activehours by Google Consumer Surveys. To combat this issue, Activehours, the company that lets workers access their pay as they earn it, is expanding its efforts to reach even more employees by announcing today partnerships with two new timesheet providers, Deputy and Nimble Schedule.

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - A new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. Millennials, conducted on behalf of Activehours by Ypulse, found the generation wishes its paychecks would follow the same flexible, convenient model of other routine life amenities, like on-demand cabs with Uber or movie streaming on Netflix. Today, with the release of Activehours' Lightning Pay, hourly workers can access earned wages in seconds introducing a new era for the paycheck -- on-demand pay. This new service is now offered in beta to select users on the Activehours mobile app.

PALO ALTO, Calif. – June 25, 2014 – For hundreds of years, we have quietly waited for our weekly, bi-weekly, and even monthly paychecks. But why?