- Ferratum, up to 803%
- Payday Advance NZ, Annual interest rates up to 693.5% APR
- Pretty Penny Loans, up to 365% APR
- SmartCash, equivalent APR: ~49% per annum
- Cash Relief, Fixed interest rate: 49.5% per annum
- Swoosh Finance, Annual interest around 48%
Employees can access earned wages quickly. They offer services that let employees access earned, but unpaid, income for a flat fee.
I'm not saying EWA are good; they are almost always an exceptionally bad idea, preying on those who are desperate.
EWA is not illegal in NZ. New Zealand is legally OK, in the same way that Airbnb-ing a property full-time is usually legal. EWA is OK as long as they're transparent, charge clear flat fees, and are employer-linked. Employers must include any wage access schemes in employee agreements.
There is one exception to these predators: BNZ "PayNow" is not stand-alone. Second the employer, and employee doesn’t pay, bear hidden costs. (Humanforce Thrive may/may not charge fees, so caveat emptor)
BNZ aside, there are local providers offering EWA services in New Zealand to kiwis.
Both MyPayNow and Wagepay charge a 5% transaction fee and 24% annual percentage rate (APR) on pay advancements.”
For these two: if someone dips $200, they'd pay $10 in fees. If repeated monthly, the effective APR is ~60%, and if fortnightly, it could hit 130%.
PaySauce describes it as: “no interest […] the only cost is a flat $3 charge for each Advance, no matter how big or small.”
The cost of borrowing $100 for one day = $3 or 1,095%. $100 for one week would be 15.6%
The video below is about US companies like DailyPay and Earnin, with APR that can easily blow past 1000%. I'm reasonably sure these are standalone payday lenders.
Both companies have drawn regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. for potentially violating state payday lending laws, and several legal actions have been filed against them.
