By Monique Crapper
With the cost of living rising and 65% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, financial stress is more than a headline—it’s a daily reality for millions of workers, especially those on the frontlines. In response, Instant has launched its new Financial Wellness Platform, designed to go far beyond earned wage access and truly empower workers to take control of their financial futures.
We built this program after listening closely to both our users and employer partners. The message was loud and clear: access to earned wages is foundational, but it doesn’t end there. Workers want to build credit, save more, afford healthcare, and plan for their futures. They need a holistic support system to achieve long-term financial stability.
That’s why we’re proud to unveil the Instant Financial Wellness Platform, a hub that offers tools for credit building, rent reporting, financial education, health and well-being access, and high-yield savings, all built to work seamlessly alongside our core earned wage access and same-day pay offerings.
Why Now?
We’ve been hearing from both employers and employees for years that the payroll system is broken. Today’s outdated pay cycles—weekly or biweekly—don’t match the “always-on” nature of life and expenses. This disconnect forces too many people to rely on high-interest credit, rack up late and overdraft fees, or fall prey to predatory lending products just to get by.
Consider this: nearly 80 million Americans are hourly workers, and most of them lack access to the financial tools many salaried employees take for granted. They often don’t have the liquidity needed for day-to-day living, can’t build credit through rent payments, and face limited or unaffordable healthcare options.
Employers have taken notice. As the battle for talent continues, companies across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and logistics are looking for ways to reduce turnover, ease employee stress, and boost overall engagement. Our Financial Wellness tools are an answer to that call.
Not Just Access—Empowerment
Instant’s new offering brings together best-in-class partners to address the most common financial pain points among hourly workers:
- Health and Well-being Access (powered by Welcome Tech): Affordable healthcare services include telemedicine, mental health support, and prescription savings—available for just $35 per household monthly.
- Credit Building and Rent Reporting (powered by MoneyLion and Self): Workers can now build or improve their credit scores through responsible use of loans, credit cards, and even rent payments—traditionally one of the most overlooked ways to build credit.
- Financial Education (powered by Visa’s Practical Money Skills): A library of accessible resources covering everything from budgeting to banking basics.
- High-Yield, No-Fee Savings Accounts (powered by MoneyLion): A secure way to build an emergency fund or save for short- and long-term goals—no matter how small the initial deposit.
These tools are designed to meet workers where they are, whether they’re banked, underbanked, or unbanked. And because they’re offered directly through the Instant platform, workers already receiving earned wage access can easily engage with these new benefits.
Built for the Frontlines
Instant has always focused on industries where financial stress hits hardest—restaurants, retail, staffing, healthcare, and more. For companies with large hourly workforces, Instant offers a one-stop shop for earned wage access, digital tips, paycards, and now, financial wellness tools.
We’ve partnered with major employers like Lazy Dog, Church’s Chicken, Bloomin’ Brands, and Sun Holdings, and we’ve seen firsthand the impact modern payroll solutions can have on recruitment, retention, and employee satisfaction.
Robert Linder, CFO at Lazy Dog, summed it up best: “We’re always looking for meaningful ways to reduce financial stress for our team members, and we are excited about the potential of Instant’s Financial Wellness program to provide important tools to save more, improve credit, and take care of mental and physical well-being.”
At Instant, our mission has always been to give workers more control, dignity, and opportunity in how they manage their finances. This new Financial Wellness platform is the next step in delivering on that promise.
Because financial wellness isn’t a nice-to-have anymore—it’s essential.
