14 mins
Feb 6, 2023
Unlock the power of flexible pay! This whitepaper explores the impact of Streams flexible pay cycle on worker financial wellbeing.
The American pay cycle was not designed for the people doing the work. It was designed for payroll departments.
This whitepaper, built on primary research with over 1,000 Americans who use a flexible pay cycle through Stream, explores what actually happens when workers are given a choice over when they get paid. The findings challenge almost every assumption the financial services industry has made about this population — and about why they want flexibility in the first place.
Unlocking the American Pay Cycle surfaces eight key findings on the behavioral, financial, and emotional impact of flexible pay. It begins a conversation on what providers, employers, and researchers can do to make it work even better.
In the United States, a quarter of the population is not financially included. One in four Americans struggles to access basic banking services, or cannot access them at all. They are locked out of the overdrafts, credit cards, and financial products that most people take for granted, and they are disproportionately the workers who show up every day to staff the hospitals, serve the meals, stock the shelves, and keep the American economy moving.
For too long, financial services have been designed around a set of assumptions that simply do not hold for most frontline workers: a steady salary, a predictable income, a credit history long enough to borrow against. The locked pay cycle (biweekly or monthly, depending on employer preference) compounds this problem. Workers earn money every day they work. But they cannot access it until payday. Between now and payday, the bills don't wait.
Stream was built to close that gap. Not with a loan. Not with a cash advance. But by giving workers real-time access to the money they have already earned.
Unlocking the American Pay Cycle is a research-led look at who actually uses flexible pay, why they use it, and what it does to their financial lives. Based on a two-week in-app survey of over 1,000 Americans using the Stream flexible pay feature, supplemented by more than 8,900 free-text responses, the findings are candid, data-driven, and full of the kind of nuance that surface-level narratives about EWA routinely miss.
Inside, you will find:
Who uses flexible pay, and why financial exclusion is the single most common binding characteristic Why "for emergencies only" is a myth, and what workers are actually doing with flexible pay How flexible pay correlates with improved financial health across all financial wellbeing categories How workers feel about it, and why the emotional response is overwhelmingly positive How flexible pay interacts with savings habits, credit reliance, and long-term financial resilience What providers and employers can do to make flexible pay work better for the people who need it most.
"When we launched Stream (formerly Wagestream), our focus was on making income provision work better for shift and frontline workers, by giving them a choice over when they got paid. This research is part of our commitment to ensuring our service positively impacts the financial wellbeing of workers, and to improving public understanding of financial inclusion."
-Trey Campbell, CEO, OneSource Virtual
In Q1 2023, Stream conducted a two-week in-app survey of over 1,000 Americans who opt for a flexible pay cycle through the Stream service. To bring additional context to the analysis, findings were compared against a mirror survey conducted among UK workers who choose flexible pay.
The survey covered usage patterns, financial situation, savings habits, credit product usage, and financial health. Stream used the FinHealth Score methodology created by the Financial Health Network to assess participants' financial health.
The question set was reviewed by an independent expert to ensure it did not introduce bias, and participants were given the option to respond with "don't know / prefer not to say" throughout.
1,072 individuals fully completed the survey. 8,900+ free text responses were recorded.
All research and content is Stream's own (formerly Wagestream). Advisory input was provided by researchers at UC Berkeley, Nest Insight, OneSource Virtual, Legion Technologies, RideTandem, the Money and Pensions Service, and the Frontline Research and Learning Institute.
Stream is designed for shift and deskless workers: the people who need to go to work.
A snapshot of the typical Stream member in the US:
Earns less than the national median annual income of $45,230 77% are on hourly pay; 23% are on a fixed salary Works in hospitality, retail, healthcare, logistics, and support services Most commonly paid biweekly: 9% are paid weekly, 90% biweekly, 1% monthly or semi-monthly The broader US hourly workforce:
70% of hourly workers are under 35 62% of all hourly workers are women Hispanic and Black workers are the most likely demographic groups to be paid hourly Only 13% of hourly workers have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 48% of salaried workers This matters because the demographics of hourly work are also the demographics of financial exclusion. Nearly 32% of Americans have less than $400 in savings (Federal Reserve Board, 2022). Among Stream's US members, only 41% report using a credit card, compared to 70% of US adults nationally. Just 17% have any overdraft protection product, compared to 25% of all bank account holders who pay at least one overdraft fee per year.
These workers are not financially fragile because they make poor choices. They are financially fragile because the system was never built for them.
The workers who choose flexible pay most actively are not those with the most financial options. They are those with the fewest.
Within Stream's US survey group, only 41% use a credit card and just 17% have overdraft protection. Nationally, 70% of US adults have a credit card and 25% pay overdraft fees annually. That gap tells the story: flexible pay is filling a hole that mainstream financial services have left wide open.
For workers without access to credit, a cashflow problem has no good solutions. Borrowing from friends and family, using payday lenders, going without essential items: these are the real alternatives. Flexible pay offers something different: access to money already earned, at a fee that is transparent and fixed.
What this means for employers: Offering flexible pay is not just a nice-to-have benefit. For a significant proportion of your frontline workforce, it is the only fair alternative to high-cost credit and financial crisis.
Many workers spoke plainly about living paycheck to paycheck, and the difficulty that arises when a check is smaller than needed to cover bills. This is not a niche experience.
Stream cannot solve low pay. But it can change the way someone sees, understands, interacts with, accesses, and manages that pay. For many of the workers in this study, that change made a material difference to their day-to-day financial lives.
The "emergency use" narrative around EWA is not supported by the data.
- 77% use flexible pay when they have to pay a bill or make an essential purchase
- 45% choose flexible pay when struggling to cope with an unexpected expense
- 29% have income fluctuations that mean they sometimes earn enough to pay bills and sometimes do not
- 28% need a different pay frequency each month
- 20% use the flexible pay feature instead of a credit card
- 18% use flexible pay for traveling to work
- 11% use it to pay down high-cost debt more quickly
This is not emergency behavior. This is deliberate, rational financial management. Workers are using flexible pay to smooth cashflow, protect savings, pay bills on time, build credit scores through autopay, avoid overdraft fees, and get to work. The range of use cases is, in the words of one research collaborator, "much broader than employers might expect."
"Being a single mom, all bills or other needs solely fall on my shoulders. Having this available gives a sense of security to have money available when I need it."
- Stream member
"It relieves a lot of stress with my financials. Rather than waiting every two weeks between wondering if I'll have enough to get by, this eases the tension and I'm able to have greater financial confidence."
- Stream member
Stream used the FinHealth Score methodology from the Financial Health Network to assess participants across four dimensions: spending, saving, borrowing, and planning.
Results from the survey group:
40% financially vulnerable 50% financially coping 10% financially healthy The percentage of financially healthy individuals in the sample (10%) is lower than the US population benchmark of around 28%, which is expected given that Stream is specifically designed for workers facing financial challenges. What matters is the direction of travel.
After using flexible pay:
65% of members overall are in a better financial circumstance 85% of those members attribute that improvement directly to Stream 93% report their financial situation has either remained stable or improved Among financially coping members: 73% had improved circumstances; 85% attributed it to Stream Among financially vulnerable members: 55% had improved circumstances; 86% attributed it to Stream The biggest positive impact is among those who are "financially coping": the large middle group who are not in crisis but are not yet stable. For these workers, flexible pay is a genuine stepping stone toward financial health.
"By giving 'financially vulnerable' and 'financially coping' workers better information and more control over their income, their employers are improving the foundations on which people build their financial futures, eroding some aspects of financial exclusion in the process."
- Michael Spataro, Chief Customer Officer, Legion Technologies
Nine in ten (93%) report their financial situation has remained stable or improved since using Stream.
Nearly two thirds (65%) are in better financial circumstances.
When asked how they feel about flexible pay, the response was overwhelmingly positive:
The word "love" appeared 215 times, representing 15% of all responses "Good," "great," "I like," and "okay" collectively appeared 46% of the time Negative sentiment was rare: it was 35x more likely for someone to say they "love" flexible pay than to say they "hate" it Just 2% of respondents expressed genuinely mixed feelings There are exceptions, and they matter. Among the 6% who reported worse financial circumstances, the most common driver was the underlying reality of very low pay. Where someone is in a deficit budget, flexible pay alone cannot solve the problem. This is an honest finding, and one Stream takes seriously in how it designs support for members who may be struggling.
Stream asked members how their usage of different credit products had changed since getting access to flexible pay.
84% of those who reported a change said their usage had decreased.
The greatest reduction was in borrowing from friends and family, where three quarters (76%) reported a change, and 86% of those were relying on friends and family less.
Payday loan usage also showed significant decreases. Debt consolidation loans showed the least change, which makes sense given that these are longer-term products.
The data suggests that flexible pay is not a form of credit that creates new reliance. It is a tool that, for many workers, replaces more expensive and more harmful forms of borrowing.
One of the most persistent misconceptions about flexible pay is that it crowds out saving. The data says otherwise.
71% of Stream members who use flexible pay also have some savings, whether in a bank account, savings account, or retirement plan.
The most common reason members gave for using flexible pay was specifically to avoid touching their savings. Protecting existing savings, not depleting them, was a consistent theme in the free-text responses.
Just 29% of respondents reported having no savings at all.
This finding is reinforced by broader research: individuals are 46% more likely to save when offered a payroll savings product versus having to open a savings account independently (SaverLife, 2019). Workers who maintain even a small savings balance are 83% less likely to use high-cost credit (FINRA, 2020).
Stream began rolling out its savings feature to US members in 2023. In the UK, around a third (33%) of members using flexible pay are also setting money aside through the Stream savings feature, and for 36% of that group, it is the first time they have ever saved.
"I use it when I don't want to touch money in my checking or savings for pocket money."
- Stream member
"Now I can pay things when I need to and not go into savings."
- Stream member
Stream's app includes personalized control settings that allow members to set limits on how they use flexible pay: caps on amounts, caps on frequency, customizable blackout windows, and the ability to lock their own settings for up to 30 days.
27% of survey participants already use these settings.
But 13% were unaware these controls existed or did not know how to use them, which means there is meaningful work still to do in putting these tools into more hands.
High-frequency usage of flexible pay is not a sign of financial distress. It is most often a sign of someone actively managing their cashflow. But for those who want guardrails, they should be visible, accessible, and easy to use. That is on providers to get right.
Alongside the data, Stream gathered over 8,900 free text responses from members. Four themes emerged consistently:
Managing Cashflow
"My bills are on autopay so what I transfer out daily is my spending money." "When my larger bills all fall on one check I don't always have enough to cover it."
Financial confidence
"I feel like I have control of my money." "Secure. Like I have a safety net." "It is truly a blessing. Never had it like this at any job."
Protecting savings
"To avoid dipping into savings." "I like to have my money right away. It works for my budgeting goals."
Getting ahead of debt
"I have a lot of debt and am working to pay it off more frequently than my twice monthly paychecks." "I've been trying to pay off debt: the sooner I get the money and apply it towards it, the less it affects my credit."
Flexible pay is not an emergency product. It is a financial planning tool, chosen deliberately, used thoughtfully, and valued deeply by the workers who have access to it.
The data points to three things employers should take away.
1. Offer flexible pay broadly, not narrowly. Positioning flexible pay as "for people who are struggling" limits its reach and creates stigma. The workers who benefit most are those who are financially excluded, and that population is larger and more mainstream than most employers realize. Make it available. Make it normal.
2. Talk about it differently. The language of "early wage access" or "wage advance" frames flexible pay as a form of borrowing. It is not. Workers are not borrowing money: they are accessing pay they have already earned. The language should reflect that. Flexible pay. Not advance. Not early access.
3. Pair it with savings. Flexible pay and savings are not in tension. Workers who use flexible pay are active savers. Giving workers the ability to both access earned pay and set money aside for the future, in the same place, at the point of receiving their income, is one of the most powerful financial wellbeing combinations available to employers today.
This research keeps returning to a few simple truths.
Financial exclusion is driving the demand for flexible pay. The workers choosing it are not making a distress decision. They are making a rational one, often in the face of a financial system that has consistently failed to design for them.
Flexible pay is, most commonly, a deliberate choice. Workers use it to smooth cashflow, manage bills, protect savings, reduce debt, and get to work. The idea that regular, high-frequency use signals a problem is not supported by the data. It is more often a signal that someone is taking their finances seriously.
Unlocking the pay cycle improves mental wellbeing. Workers repeatedly describe that simply knowing they have the option (even when they do not use it) brings comfort. Financial flexibility, like financial stability, is not just a numbers story. It is a human one.
Stream is committed to ensuring that flexible pay serves workers well, that providers behave responsibly, and that employers understand the full range of ways this tool improves financial lives. This research is part of that commitment.
Conducted: Q1 2023, two-week in-app survey
Respondents: 1,072 US workers using the Stream flexible pay feature
Free text responses: 8,900+
Methodology: FinHealth Score (Financial Health Network), Likert scale questions, and open-ended free text. Question set reviewed by an independent expert for bias. Compared against a parallel survey of UK workers.
Research collaborators: Luisa Cefalà and Nicholas Swanson (UC Berkeley), Jo Phillips (Nest Insight), Trey Campbell (OneSource Virtual), Natalie Kay (Frontline Research and Learning Institute), Michael Spataro (Legion Technologies), Tatseng Chiam (RideTandem), Peter Bailey and Roxana Prisacaru (Money and Pensions Service)
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