Earned wage advance for card payoff costs more in fees than it saves in interest

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A worker with $4,100 on a card at 18.9% APR considers taking a $200 early paycheck advance from an earned-wage-access app to speed up repayment. The app charges no interest but levies a fee of $8.99 for instant transfer on that amount. Worked through the repayment schedule, the advance saves only about $4.31 in interest while costing $8.99, leaving the borrower roughly $4.68 worse off. The shortfall in the next paycheck, when the app debits the advanced amount, largely cancels the benefit. The analysis concludes that the advance moves money early without meaningfully accelerating debt payoff.

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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