Target Among Employers Expanding Earned-Wage Access as Regulators Warn

Target employees who sign up for DailyPay "can access their earned pay at any point and transfer the money to a bank account, pay card or debit card at no cost in one business day. It costs $2.99 per transfer for instant access to funds." That arrangement is an example of a broader shift: major employers are rolling out earned-wage access programs that let workers pull a portion of pay before regular payday.

Early-access tools are now available at companies across retail, tech and hospitality, including Walmart, Amazon, Target, McDonald's, Uber, Lyft, Taco Bell, Duracell, Bridgestone and AstraZeneca, with Arby's and Hilton also named in industry lists. Providers in the space include direct-to-consumer firm Earnin and employer-focused vendors DailyPay, Payactiv and Stream, while payments apps such as Zelle, Venmo and PayPal factor into how workers move funds.

Adoption is uneven but growing. A 2024 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans report found earned-wage access was offered by 2.5% of corporate employers, while a Society for Human Resource Management survey cited that 16% of employers offer payroll advances. Provider data underscores scale: "According to company data as of December, 33 million fee-free transfers have been made by users," DailyPay said.

Program mechanics and fees vary by vendor and employer. "Every DailyPay user has two fee-free ways to access their pay, alongside an instant option for a small flat fee, according to a spokesperson," and the company said it "partners with some employers that fully or partially subsidize costs to ensure a 100% free experience for their workforce." Payactiv characterized employer offerings similarly: "zero-cost disbursement options are included in employer programs by default." Separately, Empower content notes that the benefit can give workers on-demand access to large portions of earned pay and that "Amazon allows up to 75%."

Consumer advocates and regulators have raised warnings even as some programs advertise fee-free options. "While free access to these services can rescue workers from a world of predatory payday loans, consumer advocates say it should be regulated as lending, and in many cases, employees are able to access their wages early, but not for free," the reporting notes. Critics have previously framed the practice starkly: "Workers are paying to get part of their paychecks early. It’s 'payday lending on steroids,' one expert says."

Industry observers trace the rise of these tools to several drivers: smartphone apps and faster payment rails, changing pay expectations among Millennials and Gen Z, growth of the gig economy and broader use of instant payment services. Employers cite attraction and retention, reducing financial stress and gaining a labor-market edge as reasons to offer earned-wage access.

Regulatory scrutiny is following market growth, with analysts and Federal Reserve Bank commentary warning that oversight has to catch up as the products proliferate. How companies, vendors and regulators reconcile subsidized fee-free options and small instant fees will shape whether earned-wage access remains a workplace perk or is treated as a form of consumer credit.