Dubai-based FlexxPay has raised funding from a group of individual and corporate investors to rollout its financial wellness platform in the UAE that enables companies to offer salary advances to employees for their already earned income.

FlexxPay is the first entity of its type in the GCC to empower employers with an instant and dynamic salary payment platform.

It was co-founded by successful Dubai-based entrepreneur Michael Truschler who previously launched citrussTV, a leading regional TV shopping channel, and Charbel Nasr who held the role of chief operating officer at citrussTV for several years before joining FlexxPay.

Following the massive success of similar platforms in the US and UK, the service was launched in the UAE and is set to be introduced across Saudi Arabia in the Q4 of 2019.

FlexxPay acts as an agent between employers and their employees, advancing through Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) a portion of already earned salaries on behalf of the employer, it added.

In a traditional pay cycle, an employee receives a salary at the end of each month. This traditional method of payment fails many paid workers, with more than 50 per cent of the workforce across the region living from payday to payday, unable to cover unexpected expenses that may arise during a month. For many, that means skipping meals, selling possessions, taking on extra work or contemplating other extreme measures.

FlexxPay is a cloud-based technology solution that employers can offer to their employees to help overcome financial shortfalls between paydays. With FlexxPay, employers can directly invest in their most valuable asset – their employees. The solution comes at no cost to the employer and there is no system integration needed, it added.

Utilising the FlexxPay platform, employees can easily access a portion of their already earned but currently unpaid salary at zero interest rate, paying a fixed nominal transaction fee. They can perform bank transfers, start a savings plan and more in a safe and secure environment.

Advances and fees are then paid by the employer to FlexxPay during the salary cycle at the end of the month, while the employees receive their salaries less the advances and fees already paid out to them earlier in the month.

On the new venture, Truschler said: “The problem of salaries being paid only monthly while expenses occur every day, deserves a solution. It's the reason we do what we do. Our mission is to fix the pay frequency problem at its root by providing businesses and their employees with an instant pay platform.”

“We empower those who need it the most to access a portion of their already earned salaries whenever they need to. Working together with ADCB as one of the most reputable banks in the region has enabled us to offer the services in a fully automated way,” he said.

Truschler continued: “FlexxPay offers its platform at no cost and no risk to companies. Businesses that onboard to the platform will benefit substantially from increased productivity, engagement and retention, as employees are motivated and are better able to focus on their jobs.”

“Employees will warmly welcome the solution because it provides instant access to funds, removing costly personal loans or stressful levels of indebtedness,” he added.

For employers, the benefits of FlexxPay include: no cost, no risk, no system integration required; no changes to the payroll cycle or impact on cash flow; increase workforce productivity, retention and happiness; reduction of workload on HR and Finance departments.

For employees, the benefits include: ability to access a portion of their earned salary instantly, whenever required; no loan, no interest, only a nominal transaction fee; onboarding within minutes; no credit checks necessary. Automatic eligibility for all employees once employer is enrolled; additional valuable employee benefits include a complimentary savings plan, and soon to come gift cards and loyalty points programme.

Fetchr, a Dubai based, technology driven delivery-business is one of the first companies that is offering FlexxPay to its employees in the UAE.

Idriss Al Rifai, founder and chief executive officer at Fetchr, said: “At our company we always strive to offer benefits which are meaningful and helpful to our staff. By offering FlexxPay, we remove financial stress from our employees and empower those who need it the most to access a portion of their already earned salaries whenever they need it.”

Truschler said: “Our vision is simple – use technology to bring financial security, dignity, and savings to the millions of employees experiencing financial stress."

"They've earned it, they deserve it. We look forward to welcoming progressive and wellbeing-conscious corporates to our employee benefits platform,” they added.- TradeArabia News Service