Don’t think income streaming is for you? Think again

Here at Wagestream, we’ve been getting lots of questions about income streaming – what it is, how it works, why it’s useful. Some of you have jumped straight onboard (which is very exciting for us), but some of you – understandably – have questions and some concerns. It’s fair enough. We’re all so used to getting paid on the date decided by our employer, anything different is bound to raise some eyebrows.

We wanted to help clear up any confusion, so we collated some of the most frequently asked questions and wrote down our response. 

? Isn’t this just going to get me into debt? 

Short answer – no. Wagestream only lets you access money that you have already worked for. It isn’t a loan – so there’s no borrowing and no interest. 

We launched Wagestream to help prevent people getting into debt – by making sure they are never caught in a pinch before payday. Not everyone has savings that they can turn to when something unexpected comes up. So making your earnings accessible throughout the month means you have a buffer to fall back on if you need it – instead of having to use a credit card, your overdraft or (worst of all) a payday loan.

We think that Alex from Camden Town Brewery put it best, “Wagestream is just being able to have access to the money that you’ve already earned. It’s money that is already yours”

? Isn’t this just an overdraft?

Again – the answer is no. 

Overdrafts are pretty common these days. According to the FCA, 40 million people in the UK rely on planned and/or unplanned overdrafts each year. But while it might not always feel like it, an overdraft is just a loan by another name – you’re borrowing money from your bank that you will pay back whenever you next get money in your account. You’re also likely to be charged every day you’re in it – with fees ranging from 20p to £5 per day.

Wagestream is not a loan ?. We’re just making the money you’ve already earned available to you whenever you need it. In fact, we connect directly to your employer’s workforce management systems – which means we know exactly how much you’ve earned at every moment in the month, and we’ll never give you access to more than you’ve worked for.

That’s also why when the money lands in your bank account, it’s still your employer’s name on bank statement (not Wagestream).    

? I won’t have any money left!

Actually, it’s just the opposite! 

We’ve made your earnings available to you so that even if your car breaks down on the last day of the month, you won’t get caught out.

But – to make sure you don’t take out too much before rent is due – we also only give you access a % of your earnings. The exact percentage is decided by your employer, but 50% is where we’ll always draw the line. Meaning you can’t overuse it.

Plus if you want to reduce the amount you have access to or lock yourself out for a day or two, you’ll be able to do all of that in the app!

As Jon from Stonegate said, “For me, Wagestream is a safety blanket. Because it is always there, even when I don’t use it, it is reassuring to know I have it as an option”.

? How does it actually work?

We charge a small fee per stream – always £1.75 (or ‎€2.00 for our Irish friends), no matter the amount you are streaming. It’s less than an ATM fee and enough to keep our business running. 

We’re not here to trick you and we don’t want to keep things from you, so if you want to know more about how our business works – all the technical stuff like where the money comes from, how it lands in your account etc – all the information is on our website!

?‍♂️ How can I access this? 

We work with your employer so if you’d like to get access to your wages when you want and need them, then get in touch, and we’ll make sure you start living #lifewithWagestream!

We hoped this answered some of your questions. If you’ve got anymore – shoot them our way. We’d love to answer them.

We believe every worker across the globe should have financial resilience. We work with your employer to let you track your wages in real-time, stream the money you’ve already earned, learn easy tips to manage your money and save your wages straight from your salary.

If you want to start your path towards financial freedom by getting Wagestream at work, sign up to our Waiting List.