The payment of wages often coincides with the payment of rents, utility bills, operator services or mortgage and other loans. But now there is a solution and you can find it in the Sodexo cafeteria. “We have newly added the PalmApp service to cafeteria, which allows employees to draw part of their wages for days worked at any time during the month,” says Jan Michelfeit from Sodexo Benefity, which operates the Cafeteria system for hundreds of companies in the Czech Republic.
Older generations still remember this – pay was once divided into two parts and people received an advance and a top-up. The PalmApp allows basically the same thing – i.e. to withdraw part of the salary earlier and as many times a month as needed. For example, if the company has a payday on the 15th of the month, but the employee needs to pay unexpected expenses on the 5th, he or she can simply withdraw a pro-rata portion of the salary in advance by transferring it to his or her checking account.
“Many people repeatedly take out micro-loans or overdrafts in these situations. However, both of these financial products are interest-bearing and you will end up paying back more than you borrowed. But in the PalmApp system, it’s not a loan, the employee just withdraws the money they’ve already earned,” explains Petr Ladžov from PalmApp and adds: “Because it is money that belongs to him, there is no reason for interest. On payday, the company will then transfer the remaining amount to his account.”
The employer will determine what percentage of your paycheck can be withdrawn in advance. This regulation prevents the worker from running out of money before the end of the month and having nothing left. Thus, at most, PalmApp recommends releasing 70 percent of the wages worked during the month. The money can be drawn every month, even repeatedly, or only suddenly, for example, once a year for unexpected expenses such as car repairs or the need to immediately replace a broken washing machine.
“We see this service as a really key benefit that companies can use to help their people at a time when their expenses – especially housing costs – are rising significantly,” recalls Jan Michelfeit. The service, which many people find “a thorn in their side”, can strengthen employees’ sense of belonging to the company and increase their loyalty, he said.
Photo: Sodexo
More information at www.sodexo.cz
About Sodexo Benefits
Sodexo is the largest provider of employee benefits on the Czech market. Since 1992, the company has been offering employee benefits, incentive programmes and solutions for public administration to companies and institutions in the Czech Republic, whether through electronic cards and vouchers for meals and leisure, gift vouchers or the Cafeteria benefits management system. Sodexo benefits are used by 700,000 employees and the largest benefits network has more than 70,000 partners where benefits can be redeemed.
About PalmApp
PalmApp is a fin-tech start-up in the Earned Wage Access (EWA) segment – payment of wages for time already worked. The company’s goal is to provide employees with access to their wages whenever they need it, without having to wait to be paid. PalmApp was supported by Česká spořitelna’s Seed Starter programme at the end of 2021. The company provides services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
For additional questions and requests, please contact:
Dana Samkova, mobile: 777 648 997, e-mail: dana@seteva.cz
