When Andy, a server in Pizza Express, found himself in financial hot water before payday, getting a cheap advance on his wages was easy. Pizza Express, like hundreds of other employers with low-wage workers – including Asda, Next, Superdrug, Burger King and a number of NHS trusts – had struck a deal with the “financial wellbeing” app Wagestream, giving workers access to a suite of services including its key moneymaker: salary advance.
For just £1.75 per withdrawal, Andy could take up to half of his wages early, with the agreement that he merely gave up the sum at payday. But the cheap, easy-to-use service meant he was soon falling behind.
