Activehours Debuts Lightning Pay, Meeting Demands for a New Era of Pay

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - A new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. Millennials, conducted on behalf of Activehours by Ypulse, found the generation wishes its paychecks would follow the same flexible, convenient model of other routine life amenities, like on-demand cabs with Uber or movie streaming on Netflix. Today, with the release of Activehours' Lightning Pay, hourly workers can access earned wages in seconds introducing a new era for the paycheck -- on-demand pay. This new service is now offered in beta to select users on the Activehours mobile app.

"Flexibility is important when you're a student who works part-time. What initially attracted me to Activehours was its ability to increase financial flexibility," says Jordan Wylie, 26, a part-time employee with a major national retailer and full-time student. "There have been times when payment on a bill was due a few days before payday when I'm most stretched for cash, forcing me to choose between a late fee or having my service turned off -- that's when Activehours is really helpful. Lightning Pay makes the service even more valuable as that 1-2 day wait period can make a big difference when it comes to unexpected bills or emergency situations." 

Getting Paid in the NOW Economy
As services like Lyft, GrubHub and Instacart bring cars, takeout and groceries to your front door in minutes, Millennials are wondering why their paychecks can't follow the same model. According to the survey, 71 percent of employed Millennials like the idea of using an on-demand paycheck service. The same percentage (71) see it as being similarly or more useful than other on-demand services like Uber, Netflix or Seamless.

Millennials' desire to make payday any day goes beyond instant gratification. Millennials point to an outdated, inflexible pay cycle and bank policies as obstacles to better managing their finances and paying bills on time. The survey shows:

• 1 in 4 Millennials paid hourly say having access to their pay as they earn it would have a bigger impact on their finances than increasing their hourly wage.
• 52 percent of Millennials paid bi-weekly do not think the two-week pay cycle is fair.
• 63 percent of Millennials paid bi-weekly don't believe the bi-weekly pay cycle helps them with financial budgeting.
• 61 percent of employed Millennials agree having access to their pay as they earn it would help them pay bills on time (a key factor in building and maintaining good credit).

The Money Battle: Potential Billions in Annual Millennial Savings
According to Pew Research, Millennials have higher levels of student loan debt and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income (thanks to the Great Recession) than any other generation in the modern era. This generation is also more likely than any other generation to incur overdraft fees (Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

More than half of employed Millennials (57 percent) state that having access to pay as they earn it would help them avoid over-drafting their bank account; U.S. citizens pay more than $32 billion in bank overdraft fees each year. On-demand pay provides a new way for consumers to take control of their finances and avoid these exorbitant fees.

"It's unfair to hold back someone's pay after they've worked, but with today's pay cycle process, we're doing just that," said Ram Palaniappan, founder of Activehours. "Activehours changes that. With Lightning Pay, we've created a single button that can prevent the billions of dollars in overdraft fees that Americans are charged each year by pushing your earned pay into your bank account before it goes negative."

Lightning Pay: A Real-Time Paycheck
Lightning Pay brings a true paycheck on-demand service to hourly workers of all generations by letting employees access their earned pay any day, any time, in seconds -- including evenings and weekends. Any U.S. hourly worker with a checking account can use Activehours to access earned wages ahead of their employer-mandated payday. Activehours is available on iOS and Android platforms; Lightning Pay is now available to select users in beta, with broad availability to come later this year.

To download the free Activehours app and unlock your pay, please visit:

• Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.activehours
• iTunes Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/activehours-unlock-your-pay/id723815926?mt=8

To view an infographic covering the findings of this survey, please visit: https://activehours.com/MillennialInfographic

About the Survey
The findings in this report are based on data from an online survey conducted by Ypulse on behalf of Activehours, among 1,016 employed Millennial respondents from September 12^th-22^nd, 2014. Qualified respondents for this survey were U.S. residents ages 18-30 and currently employed either full- or part-time. The sample for this survey was selected based on the demographic make-up of the general population of 18-30 year-olds in the U.S.

About Activehours
Activehours is the new, faster way to get paid. Unlike the traditional two-week pay cycle, Activehours unlocks your pay by giving you the money you've already earned when you need it most -- any time, any day. With Activehours, you choose when to get paid for the hours you've already worked, finally giving you control over your finances. Founded in 2013, Activehours is driving consumer-empowered finance through mobile technology by breaking open more than $1 trillion held up in America's pay cycle. For more information on Activehours or to download the app, please visit www.activehours.com.