In just the last decade alone, we’ve seen our lives transformed and redefined by technology. Autonomous cars roam our streets. Food from thousands of restaurants can be delivered to our front doors and ordered from an app. The methods by which we consume entertainment have been fundamentally changed.
So why are we still waiting two weeks to get paid?
A big reason is that running payroll for a company is expensive and complex -- it’s not as simple as slapping together an extra payroll cycle. But the point remains; in this era of transformation through technology, why shouldn’t we reimagine a practice that hasn’t changed much since the 1930s?
On-demand pay has emerged to help employers offer instant access to wages, a financial benefit that employees are clamoring for. In many industries, this benefit is quickly becoming standard. Businesses are losing an edge by waiting to offer it.
But as a business leader, you’ve got good reason to be hesitant. Correctly evaluating risk is a key part of the job. It’s likely you’ve heard about earned wage access (EWA), but maybe you’ve also heard a scary story or two.
We’re here to break down the top 5 myths we encounter about EWA and share some helpful stories of our own. Because by adding this benefit, not only are you helping your employees take care of their finances, you’re also accessing the morale and productivity boosts that come along with it.
Understanding the EWA Landscape
Before diving into the myths, it's important to step back and review the bigger picture. In the United States today, there’s something of a “cash flow crisis.” Nearly 80% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, a squeeze that’s impacting working class people and high-earners alike.
Paycheck-to-paycheck living is hard to endure for several reasons. A lack of savings makes it difficult – if not impossible – to pay for an emergency expense like a car repair or medical bill. Families can also scrimp on necessities by so much, often becoming overly-reliance on high-interest credit to make ends meet.
To understand the power of earned wage access, it’s important to remember this reality. If an employee living paycheck-to-paycheck gets hit with a $500 car repair, they might not have the cash to cover it right away. That means either taking out a loan or waiting for payday; both of which have steep costs beyond the repair itself.
If you could provide a way for your employees to get access to money right away they’d otherwise have to wait for, wouldn’t that help?
Let’s dive into what might be stopping you.
Myth 1: EWA Takes Too Long to Implement
New software means integration, and few things send up the neck hairs of a business leader quicker than the thought of a complex, time-consuming implementation.
You’re right to be skeptical. The average time to integrate complex software is three to nine months, time that’s not spent on other business goals. But integrating Tapcheck isn’t a monthslong process. In fact, Tapcheck integrates into your payroll system within a few weeks (sometimes days) and requires minimal investment from your team beyond standard reviews and data submissions.
Tapcheck has built integrations with more than 250 payroll and timekeeping providers, too. ADP, Paycom, Paychex – all supported by Tapcheck’s proprietary earned wage engine. But it’s not just the big guys. Tapcheck can connect to just about any combination of payroll and time software and can get your earned wage access program up and running in weeks.
Curious if your payroll or time provider is supported? Check out the full list of integrations here.
Skepticism is warranted. But business leaders in the QSR, healthcare, and manufacturing industries have found earned wage access integrations from Tapcheck to be much less headache-inducing than they’d been led to believe.
Myth 2: EWA Interferes with Payroll
Payroll is the lifeblood of the business; it’s responsible for keeping the lights on and the shop running (sometimes literally). Like we discussed in Myth #1, integrations can be a scary word for leaders, none moreso than for payroll people.
Often small departments and stretched thin, payroll teams are wary of anything that seems like extra work. They want to help their employees and provide the best experience, but it can’t be at the expense of efficiency or their time.
How do deductions work? What happens in cases of error? Will my employees have someone to contact if they have issues? Common questions like these often get at the root of their concerns – how will Tapcheck protect my time and my staff?
Tapcheck was designed by payroll people, for payroll people. The way our earned wage access system works is meant to reduce risk and ensure your employees get the best experience from their EWA benefit. Tapcheck does not require you to cede control of payroll, but instead only funds transfers to your employees. By not introducing a new system, your team keeps command of payroll just like normal. Reconciling accounts takes five minutes per week.
For your workforce, Tapcheck provides a best-in-class user experience. Our earned wage engine calculates the most accurate gross-to-net balance, ensuring an employee’s obligations are covered and they’re never left underwater on a check. They can trust their available balance is accurate, which is why we see some of the highest employee-usage rates in the industry.
Myth 3: EWA Leads to Financial Mismanagement
Some leaders have expressed concern about irresponsibility if they offered EWA to their staff. If they had access to their check whenever they wanted, would that not encourage frivolous spending? It’s a valid concern, but not one that holds up against actual usage patterns.
According to a study of Tapcheck users in the spring of 2024 and corroborated throughout the year, 76% of users report using earned wage access to pay for groceries, gas, and other necessities. Anecdotal evidence supports this, too: employers from several industries have noted their employees say it’s helped pay a car bill, light bill, even helped to make rent.
For employers worried about a learning curve associated with a new, instant access to pay, Tapcheck also provides financial learning tools within the app. Courses are available to employees that teach budgeting, saving, and investing skills. Employers are also able to rescind individual access to the benefit.
It can be easy to dismiss EWA for promoting financial mismanagement, but that’s an incomplete evaluation. There is genuine psychological relief in knowing money is there if you need it. For employees living check-to-check who might not have a savings account to dip into – where does that money come from? Bills won’t wait for payday.
EWA doesn’t encourage poor financial planning – it's a lifeline for workers who need instant access to their money.
Myth 4: EWA is Expensive to Implement
Cost concerns are paramount when reviewing new additions to the business. An expensive benefit will need to produce solid results, and quickly, to prove their worth. But EWA with Tapcheck doesn’t work like that. Our solution is cost-free to the business, so there’s no financial burden to bring EWA into the fold. It also means that even light usage by your staff can immediately provide return on your investment.
For employees, our transparent fee structures ensure that they’ll always know the costs associated with any transfers and will see those transfers itemized on their paystubs. Similar to an ATM fee, all fees associated with Tapcheck are transparent, with no hidden costs or interest.
This small, predictable fee ensures that accessing earned wages doesn't become a financial strain for employees. Compare this to expensive overdraft fees or high-interest payday loans, and the value becomes immediately apparent.
Tapcheck’s proprietary earned wage access engine offers the most accurate, reliable, and headache-free on-demand pay solution for workers and their employers. Companies don't add to payroll costs and employee paychecks always reflect their advances.
Myth 5: EWA is Only for Large Businesses
Another persistent myth is that EWA solutions are exclusively designed for large corporations. Tapcheck fundamentally challenges this notion by offering a truly scalable solution that works equally well for a single-location business or a sprawling enterprise.
Our flexible platform adapts to the unique needs of businesses across different sizes and sectors. Whether you're a local restaurant, a regional retail chain, or a national service provider, Tapcheck can integrate seamlessly into your existing systems. Read more from customers in different size segments below.
- HomeWell (small business)
- Grill Concepts (midsize)
- Genpak (enterprise)
Large businesses, in particular, can benefit from the competitive advantage of offering EWA. It becomes a powerful recruitment and retention tool, demonstrating a commitment to employee financial health that can bring serious results at scale.
With a focus on security, compliance, and transparency, Tapcheck ensures that employers of all sizes can benefit from a trusted, reliable solution. This makes Tapcheck easy to setup and maintain, ensuring a hassle-free experience for businesses while creating a smooth experience for payroll teams and the employees they serve.
The Future of Financial Wellness
Earned wage access isn't just a trend—it's a fundamental shift in how we think about compensation and employee support.
By debunking these myths, we hope to illustrate that EWA, particularly through Tapcheck, is a powerful, flexible, and employee-centric solution.
.jpg)
