UK motorway services operator Moto Hospitality has rolled out a financial wellness app that helps staff with their general money management, as well as unexpected expenses.
The app, from Wagestream, allows all of the group’s 4,500 employees to access a range of services that enable them to boost their financial resilience.
Features include allowing users to track their income, put money away with a micro-savings tool called Safestream and learn money skills through financial education. The app also offers on-demand videos that empower staff to better look after their money, and an online resource hub that identifies what information and entitlements are relevant to them.
Significant among the services, however, is one that allows employees to access their pay early through the Earned Wage Access (EWA) benefit. This gives staff the option of receiving a percentage of their already-earned wages in advance of their normal payday for a small flat fee.
Research by Wagestream has already found that when EWA is offered as part of a carefully monitored financial wellbeing programme, it is proven to reduce financial stress and reduce people’s reliance on more predatory forms of credit.
Commenting on the roll out, Ken McMeikan, chief executive of Moto Hospitality, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the relentless efforts of our team over the past year, and are constantly looking for ways to support their development and wellbeing. We know that financial stress has increasingly become a challenge for workers during the pandemic, and see financial wellbeing as a key new area for us to support them on.”
McMeikan added: “This is why we’ve chosen to roll out this app which gives our colleagues the ability to track, access, save and manage money more easily The benefit just made sense. If we can help reduce financial stress and give staff greater financial freedom, everyone wins.”
Independent data has found that 77% of employees who had the Wagestream app felt less stressed, with 72% feeling more in control of their money. It also showed that dependence on loans or other forms of money lending was reduced by 88%.
Moto Hospitality joins other big-name brands in offering the app to staff, including Bupa, Brewdog, Zizzi, Greene King, JD Sports and Virgin Care.
