Hello Indie Hackers,
I've recently came across a problem that exists back in my hometown of Amman, Jordan. Not sure if this applies elsewhere, but I'd like to hear your thoughts either way.
The problem is that many employees struggle with cashflow at some point during the month (keep in mind salaries in Jordan are paid once end of month). They end up asking for a cash advance which is not something that has been formalized in Jordan therefore its up to the manager to decide if they can pay you early or not. So if we summarize the problem we can break it down to: 1)Informal process (creating friction and awkwardness in the office)
2)Not guaranteed or might be restricted to once or a couple of times throughout the year (not standardized)
3)Probably a headache for HR and Finance (would appreciate some insight here)
My solution is to allow any employee to access their already earned salary early and apparently this concept already exists (EWA). This is not a loan. The funds will be released by the employer and depending on the request date of the employee, the employee will be eligible for that early payment. The way it works is the employer will essentially set the rules and restrictions such as: 1)Max % paid (for example 40% of what the employee has earned so far. so if an employee requests the cash mid month the employee will get 40% of half the salary).
2)Cut off dates
3)Payment method
etc.
So I basically enforce the rules, track the earned wages, trigger payments, and reconcile payroll and in return I take my cut which is a minimal flat fee charged to the employee that requests this service (we are talking 3-5 USD per transaction).
Important thing to note is that I do not hold the funds at any point in time. the funds are taken from the employer straight to the employee's account and I get paid by the employee through the portal/app.
Let me know your thoughts but I also first want to highlight a couple of flaws that made me pivot away from my initial idea. Initially the funds were supposed to come from a bank. so for example, company X route all its employees' salaries to bank y. I have an agreement with bank y that those employees can access their funds earlier and me and and the bank split the transaction fees paid to me. this way I protect myself since the salaries will be received by the bank first so no room for employees to commit fraud or delay payments if I were to fund their early salaries. second is that I completely isolate the employer (less headache). Everything happens between me and the bank. After consulting my friend that works at a bank I was told that they had this service but cancelled it a couple of years ago due to the headaches it caused and therefore was not worth it. Their model was slightly different and resembled a loan since they charged interest but nevertheless do you guys think its still possible to partner with a bank and take the headache from them?The way it would work is that I handle everything. The bank only pays the customer their early earned wage and at the end of the month subtract what was paid to the employee plus the transaction fee. then it is split between myself and the bank