wagely, Asia's leading financial wellness platform, is witnessing a remarkable growth in popularity of its earned wage access (EWA) service among women workers, with a 343% increase in the number of withdrawals made by women in 2022 compared to the previous year. Today, more than half of the individuals (53%) with access to wagely are women, highlighting a significant shift towards women utilizing EWA to manage their finances and improve financial wellness.
Financial challenges often hit women the hardest due to limited access to financial services. Despite some progress, men’s financial inclusion index remains higher at 86.28% than women’s at 83.88%. Moreover, women continue to earn less, with an average wage of IDR 2.59 million, while also contributing a significant amount of IDR 2.21 trillion to non-performing personal loans from P2P lending as of December 2022.
At wagely, we understand the challenge of paying bills or unexpected expenses faced by women when they have no funds left before payday and have created our EWA solution to help, providing a financial buffer and peace of mind for women who need it most. We are committed to bridging the gender gap in finance, and thrilled to see women thriving under our EWA program.
- Tobias Fischer, CEO of wagely
wagely’s data reveals that women workers make withdrawals from the platform most frequently in the days leading up to their payday, which highlights the usefulness of earned wage access for women running short on cash before they get paid. The top three reasons for usage, in order of frequency, are emergencies, groceries, and utility bills.
In terms of demographic breakdown, women in the age group of 18-35 with lower income levels have been the highest users of the platform. This suggests that the wagely app has been particularly helpful for young women who are just starting their careers and may not have a stable source of income. It has also been beneficial for women with lower income who struggle with financial challenges due to limited access to financial services.
In the past, many women had to rely on loan sharks that charged extremely high interest rates and late fees. To address this issue, we offer a more responsible and sustainable alternative that allows women workers to access a portion of their earned wages before payday. This approach has helped women save more than 1,000,000 USD in interest rates from loan sharks.
- Tobias Fischer, CEO of wagely
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) recently reported that it has shut down 4,482 illegal online lending platforms in Indonesia between 2018 and January 2023. This crackdown on illegal lending is expected to have a positive impact on women, who are often more vulnerable to predatory lending practices. By reducing exposure to such practices, women can avoid falling into debt traps and better manage their finances.
