Earned wage access and the end of payday lending

This article analyses the earned wage access market, assesses the likelihood that it will displace payday lending, and reveals some of the dangers lurking beneath the low-cost surface of these transactions. It argues that earned wage access products have the potential to end the thirty-year reign of payday lending. But these products do not fit neatly into existing legal categories; policy makers need to establish legal certainty regarding this classification of earned wage access to facilitate its growth while at the same time ensuring that the law protects consumers.

• Date: 06/04/2021
• Sector: Any
• Topics: Digital technology, Inclusive finance, Workers' rights
• Regions: Americas
• Resource type: Publications
• Institutions: Boston University Law Review