Hi55 Ventures’ real-time pay pilot project receives investment firm backing

By Megha Bhattacharya

UK-based FinTech start-up Hi55 Ventures announced that it has secured the backing of an investment firm for a pilot project aimed at providing workers of investment-grade companies with real-time access to their pay. The project is a trial in the development of Hi55 Ventures’ Pay Asset Finance, that enables businesses to generate working capital through payroll while offering real-time pay to employees.

David Brown, founder and chief executive of Hi55 Ventures said, “Hi55 Ventures is a FinTech with a social purpose, and Pay Asset Finance a unique solution designed to improve the financial resilience and well-being of both businesses and their people. For employees, it enables them to view their earnings in real time and access it at any time at no cost to them. It is their earned money. We believe they should not be charged for it.”

“This pilot project represents the future, a future in which every day is payday for employees, giving employees ever more freedom and control over their finances, supporting both their mental and financial well-being. But ultimately, what Pay Asset Finance can be is an economic ‘vaccine’ for the business community – both employers and employees – affected by the hit the economy has taken due to COVID-19. Pay Asset Finance can help protect jobs and businesses by giving them the finance to recover and grow.”

The pilot will be run by IT services provider everis UK. The company will test the technological capabilities of providing real-time pay for employees by creating an ability for them to access their earned wages as and when they want it. The pilot is expected to provide an undisclosed sum of funding for companies to use Pay Asset Finance, transforming how employee time is measured and the way business pays its workers.

David Costa, everis UK CEO, said, “As technology partner to HI, we are proud to be involved in this pilot project. We believe this is a huge opportunity to empower our employees by giving them control over how they are paid. We also see the value of payroll funding as a means to provide critical support to employers, particularly in overcoming COVID-19.”