The no-fee wedge
Earned-wage access that's genuinely free to your team
The worker pays £0 because you fund it. No interest, no per-draw fee, no expedite charge. claim — legal-gated
Definition
What "free to the worker" actually means
Free means the worker draws up to an employer-set cap (up to ~70%) of wages they've already earned, paid by Faster Payments, and pays nothing. No interest, no fee, no expedite charge.
It's free because you fund it. The draw comes from your own float and is recovered at the next payslip. That employer-funded structure is what makes "free" true, not a discount or a waiver. claim — legal-gated
"Your own earned wages" holds only while a draw stays within wages already earned. The cap is the safeguard.
The field
Why most providers charge the worker
Most earned-wage access models charge the worker a per-draw fee. The UK field sits in a reported £1.69–£2.75 per draw or per-% band. competitor figures — legal-gated, hedged
The mechanism is usually the same: the provider is platform-funded, fronts the cash, and recovers it plus a worker fee at payroll. So the cost lands on the worker, the person reaching money they've already earned.
How a small fixed fee adds up
The FCA has noted that repeat use of a fixed fee can make the effective cost behave like an interest rate above the payday-loan price cap. regulatory framing — legal-gated That's the FCA's conditional, illustrative risk, not a finding that all fee-charging EWA breaches the cap.
The mechanism
How Wagecrew's employer-funded model removes the worker fee
Four steps, one reconciliation, principal only.
Draw from your float
The worker draws from your own cash, up to the cap you set.
The draw is recorded
Each draw is logged against the worker and the pay period.
Recovered, principal only
The full advance comes back at payroll. No interest, no worker fee.
deduction file feeds payroll · principal only claim — legal-gated
Because there's no worker fee to compound, the FCA fee-cap concern doesn't arise here. That's a reasonable inference about a no-fee structure, not an FCA conclusion. For the worker: not a loan, not credit, no credit check, no credit-score impact. claim — legal-gated
What this means for your cash flow
You float the advance before payday and recover it days later at payroll. A brief intra-month cash-flow shift, not a cost, and not a claim of no impact on your cash flow. Removing the worker fee also removes the EWA-fee-driven NMW risk. claim — legal-gated
FAQ