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Tech Topics In This Article: Atlanta startups, FinTech
Let’s face it: Payday can’t come soon enough.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, even those earning two or three times the national average income. But for the hourly workforce, that brings a new level of stress around paying rent, bills, and other day-to-day expenses in between paychecks. So early access to wages is often not just a nice to have…it is a necessity.
Alpharetta-based Instant Financial has been tackling this problem for years, giving hourly workers access to their wages when they need them. But now, the fintech company is taking things a step further with the rollout of their new Financial Wellness program.
The program provides employees a suite of tools around credit-building, free rent payment reporting, financial education, access to high-yield savings accounts, and even discounted healthcare services.
The program was built on “consistent feedback” Instant received from end users and employers alike, said Khaled Sakr, Instant Financial’s SVP of CX and Partnerships.
“Workers have made it clear they need more than just early access to wages — they need tools that can help them build long-term financial stability. Instant spent significant time asking our clients what would be most impactful and used that input to intentionally shape the offering,” Sakr told Hypepotamus. “Key needs that emerged included financial education, credit building, rent reporting, affordable healthcare, and high-yield savings accounts — features that go beyond basics to help users break cycles of debt and achieve more financial stability.”
The Big Picture: Why This Matters For Workers
The financial struggles of hourly workers aren’t new, but they’re getting worse. With costs of housing, food, and healthcare skyrocketing, many workers find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt. Traditional payroll systems, which operate on outdated weekly or biweekly pay schedules, only make things harder.
Often, hourly workers have a lack of liquidity options, poor or no credit history, unreported rent payments, and limited savings options.
“Many American workers, especially hourly workers, face systemic financial challenges rooted in outdated payroll models,” Sakr explained. “Workers are still often stuck in weekly or biweekly pay cycles, despite living in an ‘always-on’ economy. This lag in wage access makes it difficult to cover everyday expenses, leading to late fees, high-interest credit usage, and even reliance on predatory financial products.”
On top of delivering a holistic financial solution to workers, Sakr said the program is also designed to improve employee engagement and retention, since employers are increasingly focused on “meaningfully [reducing] their workers’ financial stress.”
Sakr said mid-market and enterprise-level employers that have frontline or hourly employees are best suited to use Instant’s fintech technologies.
“While the company has deep roots and expertise in hospitality and restaurants (QSR and FSR), it also supports companies in retail, staffing, healthcare, transportation, and logistics,” Sakr added, and has helped companies decrease high turnover, absenteeism, and the “operational complexity in managing tipped employees or off-cycle payments.”
Building Instant In Metro Atlanta
The Instant team is currently made up of 50 employees spread between the company’s Alpharetta, Pensacola, and Vancouver offices.
The FinTech has raised $28 million in outside funding, according to Crunchbase. Atlanta-based investors TTV Capital and Tech Square Ventures are on Instant’s cap table.
