What Is a Payroll Card and How Does It Work?

What is a Payroll Card?

A payroll card is an employer-issued debit card where your payroll sends a worker’s wages. Your employees then have access to their money from this card and can use it as a debit card.

Employees can use the payroll card to withdraw cash from an ATM, grocery shop, or shop online. If your employees have a bank account, they can transfer their money to their account as one chunk or on an at-need basis.

If you’re an employer, you want to keep your best employees. One of the best ways to keep your employees happy is to make sure they’re being paid and paid on time with a payroll card. Direct and easy access to their money is even better. You can do this by issuing them the best payroll cards for employees.

Read on more to learn about payroll cards, how they work and why they’re a great option for your business and your employees.

Benefits of Payroll Cards for Employers and Employees

A pay card for work is mutually beneficial for employers and employees. If you’re considering enrollment in a payroll card program, here’s what they can do for you.

For Employers

Cost Cutting

A payroll card allows you to cut the time and cost of printing paper checks for your employees. You can save money in your payroll department by eliminating the need for paper checks, ink, and envelopes.

Reliability

You can rest easy knowing your employee received the money they are owed. Paper paychecks can suffer easy damage. They get wrinkled, torn, or water damaged.

In these cases, you’ll have to issue another check and your employee won’t have access to their pay until you do.

For Employees

While payroll card programs have great benefits for an employer, the employee benefits go even further.

Quick Access

A payroll debit card allows employees to access their money immediately. Once deposited, they can spend and withdraw.

Paper paychecks can cause many delays. For one, an employee has to receive the check. Then they have to cash or deposit. A deposited paper check may take one to three business days to process.

Ease of Use

If an employee doesn’t have a bank account, a payroll card functions as a debit card. With these cards, they avoid carrying large sums of money.

They can use it in any place that accepts debit card payments like grocery stores, gas stations, and other retail outlets. They can also use their card to shop online.

Promotes Financial Wellness

A great advantage of the payroll card system is that it boosts an employee’s financial wellness. A card program like Payactiv offers financial planning tools that help employees budget and save.

Financially secure employees are happier employees. They are more productive and will call out less. A payroll card provides the tools they need to be secure.

Discounts

Payroll cards like the one offered by Payactiv, offer discounts at participating retailers that help your employees save money. These discount programs act as an employee benefit program to keep employees happy.

Earned Wage Access

This is the big benefit payroll cards offer employees that traditional paper checks and direct deposit cannot. Earned Wage Access allows employees to spend the money they earn when they need to.

Here’s how it works. With enrollment in the Earned Wage Access Program through Payactiv, employees can access up to 50% of their earned wages at any time.

With this money, employees can pay for expensive emergency car or home repairs without using a credit card or seeking a short-term loan. They can also use their money with certain online retailers to make emergency purchases.

What is a Payroll ATM Card?

It’s simply another name for a payroll card. Some payroll cards offer one or more free in-network ATM withdrawals per pay period. Employees can locate in-network ATMs online, at the same website where you log in to your card account or ask their employer for a list.

How to Set Up and Use a Payroll Card from Payactiv

Issuing your employees with a Payactiv payroll card involves three simple steps:

Apply

You apply for the Payactiv Visa Payroll Card when an employee requests one.

Activate

The employee downloads the Payactiv app, creates an account, and activates their card. They’ll need their Employee ID, which can be found on their pay stub.

Get Paid

Your employee can use the Payactiv app to keep track of their earnings, savings, and spending all in one place.

If you offer your employees Earned Wage Access (EWA) every day they work, a portion of their earned wages will be available to them in the Payactiv app. It’s totally up to them if they want to access these funds before payday and avoid high interest loans, overdrafts, and late fees.

Do Your Employees Need a Payroll Card?

A payroll card gives the employer and the employee peace of mind.

Combined with other financial wellness programs and Earned Wage Access, a payroll card program keeps employees and employers happy. Payactiv offers the best in payroll debit card benefits programs. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you and your employees.