Smith School Students Equip Maryland Legislators with Key Insights on Earned Wage Access

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- When Maryland state officials sought policy recommendations on financial regulations, a group of graduate students at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business answered the call.

Beginning in October 2024 and continuing into the 2025 spring semester, Smith's Liu Yang, associate professor of finance, led a team of students from the Master of Finance and Master of Quantitative Finance programs in conducting in-depth research and providing policy recommendations on the state's earned wage access (EWA) regulations.

Often denoted as "on-demand pay," an EWA service operates similarly to a payday loan, allowing employees to connect their bank account to a money lending service and receive an advance on their future paycheck. In contrast to payday loans, EWA services are not considered loans and, therefore, do not fall under the scope of traditional lending standards and regulations.

Through Yang's experiential learning project, students were tasked with identifying the impact of the state's EWA program on consumers and categorizing the policies as either new or existing.

To accomplish the task, the state provided the students with a market data inquiry, which requested information from every EWA provider in the state, including the number of users and the amount of revenue earned. The findings were then cross-referenced with information from other data sources, such as FINRA and the Census Bureau, to gain a deeper understanding of the profile of Maryland residents and constituents who utilize the service.

Among the factors examined by the student team were area demographics, including age, gender, and race. Other factors considered included the current financial conditions of users, their income, access to banking institutions, the users' residential zip code and how using EWA services affects them, says team member Yentell James, Master of Finance '25.

"We wanted to understand whether these services were helping individuals and whether they were designed to reach a specific user archetype," says James. "It also helped us think about how to address financial situations before a person gets to the point of needing to use an EWA service."

In March, the students presented their findings and offered recommendations to Maryland legislators, including Maryland Secretary of Labor Portia Wu and Antonio Salazar, Commissioner of Financial Regulation. The same day, they also attended the Finance Committee hearing, during which a bill discussion on EWA providers was held and featured citations from their work.
Among the students' findings was a growing hyper-dependency of EWA services among users, as well as a majority of those users paying out optional tips and fees.

"Think of the paid fees and tips like an APR, which works because you're borrowing money based on a paycheck. An average APR might be around 20%, but in this scenario with EWA's, there were instances where the potential APR in paid fees was over 100% for that two-week period," says James. "Users were voluntarily giving this money away when they're already in some type of financial constraint, considering that they're using the service. We think that's something that will probably be looked into moving forward."

Those findings underscore the vital role of higher education institutions in supporting all levels of government through research and development, driving innovation and economic growth, and harnessing the vast expertise within the university community for the public good.

These projects also demonstrate how universities can equip policymakers and legislators with actionable insights to better serve their constituents, improve the quality of life within their communities and effectively manage risk. On a personal level, Shrenik Kalambur, Master of Quantitative Finance '25, says that working on the project offered abundant growth opportunities, the ability to hone invaluable professional skills and create lifelong memories.

"This project allowed me to work with a diverse and talented team, manage deadlines, refine our deliverables as per client requirements, improve our understanding of how research influences policy decisions and enhance teamwork abilities," he says. "Presenting to the state was an incredibly rewarding experience, as it gave our team the opportunity to experience firsthand how academic research impacts policy decisions."

Yang also hopes that this project marks the beginning of a new chapter for Smith students, enabling them to use their skills in advancing the public good in Maryland and, ultimately, across the country. "Overall, this has been an incredible experience for the students and hopefully the start of a lasting collaboration between the Smith School and the state," says Yang.

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master's, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

Contact: Greg Muraski, [email protected]

SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business