Refyne bets on 'pay-on-demand' concept to boost employee productivity 

People are coming on the app almost 10 times a month just to see how much they have earned, says pay-on-demand startup Refyne’s co-founder and CTO Apoorv Kumar, describing how the concept of Earned Wage Access (EWA) helps improve employee productivity.  

It is one of the ways companies benefit from the startup’s EWA concept, he adds. The Bengaluru-based startup provides employees of its clients access to a portion of their accrued but unpaid salary any time before payday, but it’s not a loan and does not involve any cost to the employer. 

“When we launched the platform, we observed that people were not coming on the platform just to transact, but also to observe their salary—how it is getting accumulated day-to-day. There’s no other tangible way for people to observe that. It creates a psychological effect where the absenteeism gets reduced.”  

There’s a tangible benefit for companies during recruitment where companies with pay-on-demand become way more favourable than others, he adds. “There’s a 30-35 per cent improved retention among cohorts with earned wage access and 2-2.5 times more attractiveness to candidates,” he says referring to research they conducted with consulting firm EY.  

EWA providers usually integrate their service into the company’s Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and charge both employees and employers for their services. The method to allow employees access cash instantly is being pegged as a low-cost way to attract new talent, improve retention and generate goodwill in the workforce. 

Firms like UKG India and Refyne are testing out in India the model which western countries have adopted, despite several organisations there paying employees every fortnight. 

“Giving out salary advances is a prominent thing in many companies. On a daily basis, the HR has to think if the employee’s reason a valid one, is the amount okay, then get the finance team to release the money released. Is that a good use of the HR’s time when they could be enacting new policies and talking to employees to make sure they are motivated which is the core element of their job?” says Kumar. 

The Tiger Global-backed startup, set up in December 2020, says it caters to 1.2 million employees and works with more than 200 companies, including Practo, TeamLease, CARS24, Tenon, Shadowfax, Rebel Foods, Acko, BlackBuck, Arti Group and Cafe Coffee Day. 

By bringing employee’s financial wellness to the fore, he says, the pandemic created an interest among companies for their offering. With EWA proving to be a good gateway to bring employees into the ecosystem and earn their trust, the startup now plans to launch other products as well to help employees manage finances better. 

It has raised a total of $106 million in funding so far. Its most recent round was in January 2022 when it closed Series B funding round of $82 million led by Tiger Global and existing international investors - QED Investors, partners of DST Global, Jigsaw VC, XYZ Capital, and RTP Global - and new investor Digital Horizon. 

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