‘The app’s like candy’: how Wagestream borrowers felt trapped
Users of the salary advance service marketed by their employers say it was all too easy to slip into debt‘Financial wellbeing’ app targets low-wage workers with high-interest loansWhen Andy, a server in Pizza Express, found himself in financial hot water before payday, getting a cheap advance...
<p>Users of the salary advance service marketed by their employers say it was all too easy to slip into debt</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/aug/30/financial-wellbeing-app-targets-low-wage-workers-with-high-interest-loans">‘Financial wellbeing’ app targets low-wage workers with high-interest loans</a></p></li></ul><p>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.</p><p>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.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/aug/30/the-apps-like-candy-how-wagestream-borrowers-felt-trapped">Continue reading...</a>
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