Wagecrew EWA · earned-wage access

Earned-wage access that's genuinely free to your team.

Give your hourly, shift and salaried staff their already-earned pay before payday. You fund it, you set the cap, and it helps you keep the people you've already hired.

Not a loan legal-gated No credit check legal-gated Paid in minutes
Built by an operator who runs it. Wagecrew EWA came out of a hospitality operator's own move to monthly payroll.

What you control

Employer settings
Withdrawal cap 70%
Withdrawals / period5
Pay periodMonthly
Funded byYour float
Payroll output 1 file

What it is

What earned-wage access actually is

Earned-wage access (sometimes called on-demand pay) lets a worker draw a share of wages they've already earned before the normal payday. With Wagecrew, they draw up to a cap you set, paid by Faster Payments in minutes, and you recover it from the next payslip.

What it is

  • Access to wages a worker has already earned, up to an employer-set cap (default 70%).
  • Free to the worker, funded by you. claim — legal-gated
  • Paid near-instantly by Faster Payments, minimum draw £20.
  • Recovered from the next payslip, principal only.

What it is not

  • Not a loan and not credit. claim — legal-gated
  • Not an advance on pay that hasn't been earned yet.
  • No interest and no credit check. claim — legal-gated
  • It doesn't replace your payroll. One reconciliation, at payroll, as now.

How it works

Two sides, one reconciliation

Your team gets a three-step draw. You get controls you set and a single deduction file at payroll.

For your team

See the balance

Open the app and see what's available to draw, updated from approved shifts.

Request a draw

Choose an amount from £20 up to your cap. Manual request only, confirmed by SMS.

Money arrives in minutes

Faster Payments lands it in their own bank account, usually within minutes.

For you, the employer

  • Set your controls. Cap as a % of gross (default 70%), withdrawals per period, and your pay-period shape: weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
  • Upload timesheets. An upload cooldown holds funds until hours are confirmed. Works for hourly, shift and salaried staff.
  • Workers draw from your float. Each draw is recorded against the worker and the period.
  • Reconcile at payroll. A deduction file nets every draw against the next payslip.

both sides meet at

one reconciliation file, at payroll

The money flow

Your float

You hold the cash, ready to release against earned hours.

Worker draws

Up to your cap, paid by Faster Payments in minutes.

Next payslip

The full advance is recovered at payroll. Principal only.

recovered days later at payroll · no interest, no worker fee claim — legal-gated

Why Wagecrew

The part rivals can't copy

Employer-funded, with no worker fee, and a cap you control. Most of the field charges the worker to reach money they've already earned.

£0

Worker fee legal-gated

Your team pays nothing to draw their own earned wages. No per-draw fee, no expedite charge, no subscription.

Your
cash

Employer-funded

Draws come from your own float and net at payroll. No third party in your salary flow, no funder to fail.

≤70%

A cap you set

You choose the percentage, the frequency and the pay period. Built for any UK employer, hourly or salaried.

Across the UK field, every fee-charging provider sits in a reported £1.69–£2.75 per draw or per % band. competitor claim — legal-gated Funding models differ and are a verify item.

See how the field compares

For employers

What it does for your business

A retention benefit that costs your workers nothing and costs you a brief shift in when cash leaves, not whether it does.

£0

Cost to your worker legal-gated

70%

Cap you set, of earned wages

£20

Minimum draw

1

Reconciliation file

Keep the people you've hired

Reduce turnover by giving staff a reason to stay. They draw what they need between paydays; you keep one pay run.

Fewer gaps to backfill

When workers can reach earned pay, shifts get covered by your own people first. ROI stat — legal-gated, needs substantiation

You stay in full control

Set the cap %, the withdrawals per period and your own pay periods. Tighten or loosen as your cash flow needs.

A cleaner pay posture

No worker fee means it removes the EWA-fee-driven NMW risk that fixed per-draw fees create. claim — legal-gated

The one trade-off, stated plainly: you float up to the cap before payday and recover it days later at payroll. That's a brief intra-month cash-flow shift, set against covered shifts and retained staff. We don't claim it has no impact on your cash flow.

The full employer case Payroll calculator

Trust & compliance

Built carefully, because it's money

Not a loan

Workers access wages they've already earned, by manual request, recovered at payroll. Not a loan and not credit. claim — legal-gated

No credit impact

No credit check and no credit-score impact for this model. claim — legal-gated Stated as fact, not sold as a protection.

Secure by design

SMS two-factor on every withdrawal, magic-link sign-in, encrypted bank details, and per-tenant data isolation.

On regulation we state our posture plainly and don't over-claim. regulatory wording — legal-gated

For workers

Your own earned wages, before payday

You worked the shift. The pay is yours. Reach it in minutes, for free, without waiting for payday.

  • Free to use. Your employer funds it. claim — legal-gated
  • Won't affect your credit score. claim — legal-gated
  • From £20, up to the cap your employer sets.

For workers What "free" actually means

A worker's week

Earned by Tuesday£140.00
Drew Tuesday evening£80.00 Paid · 2 min
Fee charged£0.00 Free
Comes off payslip£80.00

FAQ

Questions, answered honestly

For employers

What does this cost my business?
There's no per-transaction fee to the worker. You fund each draw from your own float and recover it at payroll, so the cost is a brief shift in when cash leaves, not a new line item.claim — legal-gated
Is this a loan or credit?
No. Workers access wages they've already earned, by manual request, recovered from the next payslip.claim — legal-gated
How does the float and the cash-flow shift work?
You float up to the cap before payday and recover it days later at payroll. We describe it as an intra-month cash-flow shift, and we don't claim it has no impact on your cash flow.
How does payroll reconciliation work?
Each draw is recorded against the worker and the period. A deduction file nets the total against the next payslip, so you keep one reconciliation.
Does it create an NMW risk?
Because there's no worker fee, it removes the EWA-fee-driven NMW risk that repeat fixed fees create.claim — legal-gated

For workers

Does it cost me anything?
No. On-demand pay through Wagecrew is free to you; your employer funds it.claim — legal-gated
How fast does the money arrive?
It's sent by Faster Payments, usually within minutes, to your own bank account.
Will it affect my credit score?
No. There's no credit check and no credit-score impact for this model.claim — legal-gated
How much can I take?
From £20 up to the cap your employer sets, of wages you've already earned in the current period.

Book a demo

Give your team their earned pay, at no cost to them.

See the worker app, the controls you set, and the payroll deduction file in one short call.

Book a demo

Book a demo

See Wagecrew EWA in 20 minutes

The worker app, the controls you set, and the payroll deduction file. We'll tailor it to how you pay your team.

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