I spotted a trend of the same type of start-up popping up right after the other. The first one I spotted was SmartWage, founded in September 2019 by brothers Nick & Alex Platt plus a third gentleman named Simon Ellis. SmartWage is a real-time lender that allows employees to access a portion of their income earned during the month before payday without interest. I had seen the model a few years ago, pioneered by a company in America called Earnin, which I will talk about too.
The largest employer here is the state and the gains they make will be incremental until they incentives are aligned to compete with the incumbents. Everything in this area is done by trade unions, where its tit for tat. Banks will probably htake the lions share of this marketwhen they enter it as seen with stripe. In conclusion they are the first but not the last.
I enjoyed the read as I wasn’t even aware of such systems. I think certain organizations can implement these systems in SA. A relatively large part of our population aren’t too tech efficient in basic use. So that may be a barrier for other. Also there’s still stigmas or cautions around using online banking for others. Some may believe that a family member for example could access these funds without their knowledge while using their digital device .
The largest employer here is the state and the gains they make will be incremental until they incentives are aligned to compete with the incumbents. Everything in this area is done by trade unions, where its tit for tat. Banks will probably htake the lions share of this marketwhen they enter it as seen with stripe. In conclusion they are the first but not the last.
I enjoyed the read as I wasn’t even aware of such systems. I think certain organizations can implement these systems in SA. A relatively large part of our population aren’t too tech efficient in basic use. So that may be a barrier for other. Also there’s still stigmas or cautions around using online banking for others. Some may believe that a family member for example could access these funds without their knowledge while using their digital device .
But I’m in agreement the positive savings part