How fast is Instant Pay?

Paycheques never seem to arrive when you need them most. More often than not, your big utility bill or unexpected emergency expense happens right before your next payday, leaving you scrambling to figure out how you’re going to make ends meet.

When it comes to paycheques, getting your money quickly is key. There’s nothing worse than working for hours on end, only to wait days or weeks to actually enjoy the fruits of your labour.

That's where Instant Pay comes into the picture.

With Instant Pay, the amount of time you have to wait in between working and getting paid has never been shorter.

So just how fast is Instant Pay and how can it help you master your finances? Let’s take a look.

How fast is Instant Pay?

Back in the day, you used to go to work and then get paid at the end of the week. Some folks got paid at the end of two weeks or on the 15th and the last day of the month.

Either way, you’d essentially be working for free while waiting a week or two, or sometimes three, to receive your paycheque.

That doesn’t sound too enticing, right? Well, guess what? It’s still like that today!

Tons of companies continue to stick by the tried-and-true standard payday model where employees get paid every few weeks or at the start of each month.

And who can blame them? Payroll is a complicated process. There are so many things to keep track of from account numbers, withholding amounts, fringe benefits, retirement disbursements, and corporate taxes… it never ends.

So, you can imagine why everyone from the CEO down to the accounting staffer doesn’t get particularly excited at the thought of changing how employees get paid. Work a bunch of hours, cut cheques once a month, and call it quits. It works—for the company, that is.

The problem is that this system only really benefits the employer.

Employees, on the other hand, are left to figure out bills, groceries, and other necessities for weeks on end without getting paid.

But it’s the twenty-first century, people. We’ve landed humans on the moon, sent people to the bottom of the ocean, and have begun curing once life-ending diseases. Surely, we can sort out a better way to pay our employees that is efficient and, most importantly, fast.

Guess what? We did!

Instant Pay is the answer to your payday woes. When your employer works with KOHO and offers Instant Pay, you can unlock up to 50% of your paycheque every day for free, as long as you also have a KOHO account.

And, it's not called Instant Pay because it’s catchy and we like the number of syllables. It’s called Instant Pay because it’s instant! As in, right now. If you cash out part of your cheque, your money is available in your KOHO account immediately.

Will I be charged interest for this instant money?

Nope! There’s no interest on your Instant Pay wages because this isn’t a loan.

Instant Pay simply “cashes out” the wages from the hours you’ve already worked and deducts that money from your regular paycheque. With a loan, you’d be borrowing money from a bank, credit union, or another financial institution.

With Instant Pay and other earned wage access (EWA) programs, you’re simply taking money from your own paycheque. In essence, you’re just getting the money you’re already owed a bit earlier than normal.

Think about it this way: If you get paid $20 an hour and have worked 20 hours this week, you’ve already earned $400.

In a traditional paycheque model, you won’t get your money (minus any taxes or payroll deductions) until your payday. But that payday might not be for another few weeks! What if you need to pay your phone bill or stay current on your car loan?

Traditional payroll systems just won’t cut it in these situations. If you use Instant Pay, however, you’ll be able to access up to 50% of the wages you’ve already worked for right away.

Want to Know a Secret About Payroll?

Remember how we said paying employees in that standard weekly or bi-monthly style is good for employers? Well, it’s not!

While it’s true that standard payroll models are less hassle for employers. But employers who offer an earned wage access (EWA) program like Instant Pay tend to find that doing so makes employees both more loyal to the company and more productive at work.

The best part for all you employers out there? It costs nothing to implement Instant Pay and it won’t cause any changes to your current payroll practices. KOHO handles all the heavy lifting and Instant Pay plugs in easily to the systems that your accounting team already has.

We here at KOHO know that messing around with established HR and accounting practices isn’t exactly ideal. Thankfully, Instant Pay can make your accounting practices work better by helping your employees more effectively manage their finances.

There are some drawbacks to Instant Pay, right?

Whenever you’re considering financial products, you should take time to be aware of all the pros and cons that come with them.

We’re big fans of transparency here, and with Instant Pay, there are a few things you should keep in mind before you sign up.

First, if you don’t have a KOHO account, the transfer will cost you a flat fee of $3.50 and it may take a business day or two to clear.

In the grand scheme of things, that's still a pretty darn good deal when you consider that you’re getting your money earlier than ever before. But if you want to use KOHO’s Instant Pay feature frequently, it can help to open a free KOHO account so you can save on fees in the long run. KOHO accounts come with a whole bunch of other great features as well, like cashback, so there’s a lot to love if you sign up.

Second, if your employer doesn’t work with KOHO directly, you won’t be able to use Instant Pay.

But even if your employer doesn’t yet offer Instant Pay, you don’t have to lose hope. You can refer your company to KOHO and our customer service team will help talk your employer through all of the program’s benefits.

Finally, remember that when you use Instant Pay, you’re effectively taking money from your paycheque before payday.

This means that this money won’t be there when you get your cheque or direct deposit at the end of your pay cycle. This can be disconcerting at first, especially if you’re used to receiving a nice big cheque at the end of each month. So keep this in mind when you sign up for the program.

Are there any other benefits to Instant Pay besides fast money?

While there are some potential drawbacks to Instant Pay, they pale in comparison to some of the many benefits of Instant Pay. These advantages include:

• It’s truly instant – We’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again. If your employer works with KOHO and you’ve got a KOHO account, you can get instant access to your cash through Instant Pay—and we mean instant. We don’t call it Instant Pay for nothing! Because KOHO works with both employers and the employee’s own KOHO account, we’re able to get your money to you right away.

• Lets you align payday with your bills – We’ve already discussed how bills and paycheques never seem to arrive on the right day. Well, with Instant Pay, you can control half of that equation by withdrawing a portion of your cheque whenever you want. That way, you can better align your payouts with the due dates on your bills.

• Makes it easier to avoid fees and interest charges – If you need some cash to make ends meet and don’t have Instant Pay (or another EWA program) you might have to resort to a payday loan, cash advance or even an overdraft on your chequing account. All of these options come with exorbitant fees and interest rates, which can make your situation worse in the long term.

• Helps you reach your savings goals – Instant Pay works with KOHO’s full suite of money management tools. This means that you can use it in conjunction with other awesome features like RoundUps, which allows you to round up your purchases and deposit that remainder into a savings account so you can reach your financial goals.

The speed of Instant Pay makes me nervous… is it secure?

KOHO takes your privacy and the security of your banking information seriously. In fact, in many ways, programs like Instant Pay are more secure than traditional payment methods.

Think about it: in the old days, you’d have to get a paper cheque, walk to the bank, and cash it. During this time, everything was done on paper and banking processes were completed manually by humans, which means that there were more possibilities for errors to occur when handling your money.

Since KOHO and the Instant Pay program work with your employer’s payroll processes, your money and financial information are managed in the same secure ecosystem.

Moreover, the KOHO website and app are built on a best-in-class security infrastructure. A cashless society is in many ways a more secure society because our money is attached directly to ourselves, not as an amorphous piece of paper.

KOHO takes your security seriously. So in its very nature, Instant Pay can be a more secure method of getting paid than other forms of banking that rely on cash or paper cheques.

Instant means instant

Instant Pay helps you get paid like it’s the twenty-first century: instantly.

We have apps for everything and even your coffee maker is connected to the internet. So why should your paycheque take weeks to arrive in your bank account?

With Instant Pay, this no longer has to be your reality. You can use Instant Pay to get access to your money as quickly as you like after you earn it. This makes it a great way to manage your finances, avoid fees, and get crucial bills paid on time. Best of all, it’s instant!