Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform, Paymenow, is readying to roll out in Zambia through an alliance with financial services provider Izwe.

Paymenow announced its expansion today, saying its EWA FinTech platform will be rolled out in Zambia to all “employers who wish to assist their employees with the most affordable and responsible liquidity management solution in the market”.

EWA is a financial offering to employees which allows them to access a percentage of their accrued wages before the end of their payroll cycle.

Paymenow is a financial wellness app that allows low-income workers to access part of their earned wages before payday, providing access to much-needed liquidity while empowering them to avoid the costs and dangers of debt.

The Stellenbosch-based company was launched in 2019 by Bryan Habana and co-founders Willem van Zyl, Deon Nobrega and Gerry Potgieter.

In announcing the Zambian move, Paymenow says EWA is increasingly becoming an employee-value-proposition differentiator, hence its expansion into Zambia, and has growth plans for the rest of the African.

“Employers who provide an EWA solution to their staff see greater employee satisfaction and mental well-being, which results in increased productivity and retention. Employers can set custom limits and eligibility on their own configured Paymenow platform.

“Employees are charged a small service fee similar to an ATM withdrawal charge, no interest, any monthly subscription or membership fees are charged. There is no cost to employers who adopt the platform.”

Deon Nobrega, Paymenow’s CEO, comments, “Our vision is to ease the burden inflicted by unregulated short-term money lenders through affordable, real-time access to a portion of their earned yet unpaid salary, and to educate and assist in reaching financial goals.

“It’s a transformative model which has proven its social value in South Africa and Namibia, and we’re keen to expand its impact across the continent.

“Izwe is an established and trusted brand across Africa and this partnership leverages our respective strengths to allow us to go to market in record timing, enabling us to fast-track our pan-African expansion to the largest jurisdictions on our roadmap.”

He notes Izwe has “built a solid reputation for its innovative service delivery systems and customer-centric financial solutions” which complements Paymenow’s EWA offering.

Willie van Zyl, Group CEO at Izwe, says: “We’re delighted to partner with Paymenow to offer this market-leading service to Zambian customers. Our commitment to offering a wider range of unique financial solutions for positive change is enhanced by Paymenow’s product stream, allowing our customers greater control over their finances and greater flexibility to meet their financial needs. This partnership further accelerates our path towards our goal of becoming a digital first, customer centric FSP.”