Dr. Despard and his colleagues at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis released reports for 5 studies of fin tech platforms to promote employee financial health in partnership with the Financial Health Network. Dr. Despard was an author on 4 of these reports.
The reports include findings from studies of digital finance apps and platforms offered to frontline workers in companies across the U.S. including Brightside, HoneyBee, Manifest, MedPut, and Onward. These apps and platforms provide access to interest-free loans, savings opportunities, and financial management tools.
Key findings from these studies, which Dr. Despard summarized on April 7th as a featured speaker at the Financial Health Network’s national Emerge Workplace conference included that these apps and platforms are reaching frontline employees who lack access to affordable credit and helping them better manage near-term financial needs and reduce financial stress.
In particular, by linking with company payroll systems, these apps and platforms give employees an alternative to high cost and predatory payday loans and an automatic way to save.