SOLE Financial Partners With WiseWage to Bring Paycards to Unbanked Workers

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SOLE Financial has partnered with WiseWage, a payroll partner owned by Reinvestment Partners, to provide SOLE Paycards to WiseWage's employer clients. As a company that focuses on bringing mainstream financial services to the unbanked through small business employers, WiseWage's mission aligns with SOLE Financial's goal of bringing financial inclusion to unbanked workers through paycards.

WiseWage attributed the choice to partner with a paycard company as part of a large-scale decision to move from advocacy to action in the financial inclusion space. Prior to the partnership, WiseWage's business model focused on assisting clients with unbanked employees to choose between prepaid or low-risk bank accounts for their employees. Partnering with SOLE has allowed WiseWage to add a payroll card to their consulting product suite. WiseWage cited SOLE Financial as the ideal paycard partner due to both companies' shared focus on the social importance of bringing financial services to the 26 percent of American workers who are unbanked.

Adam Rust, WiseWage managing director, explained, "We chose SOLE because SOLE Paycards are more affordable for workers than prepaid cards, but the SOLE payroll card is even better than prepaid cards. There's no overdraft fee, workers can make cashback transactions, and SOLE offers a robust financial literacy program for cardholders." Of the business model that relies on employers to reach the unbanked, Rust said, "The real opportunity is to appeal to small businesses' desire to save money and use that incentive to trigger unbanked workers into the banking system. Everybody wins."

WiseWage has already begun transitioning several clients onto the SOLE Paycard, including TFR Enterprises, a Texas-based disaster relief service that often has employees working in the field for weeks at a time, miles from traditional banks. These workers will now be able to access their funds instantly on payday with their SOLE payroll debit cards.

Tom Secor, SOLE Financial president, said, "When the opportunity arose to help the unbanked workforce in partnership with Adam and his team, we jumped at the chance. Our companies' shared passion for serving the underserved was immediately apparent. Through this collaboration, we are able to dramatically expand our financial inclusion efforts. We're firm believers that experiencing the cost, time and security benefits of direct deposit should be enjoyed by every employee, not just those with access to traditional bank accounts."

About SOLE: SOLE® Financial advances financial inclusion by providing unbanked workers instant and affordable access to their hard-earned pay while helping companies go paperless. The SOLE Visa® Payroll Card eliminates the expensive and logistical burden of paper checks and bridges the gap for clients striving to reach 100 percent direct deposit participation. SOLE celebrates clients that achieve 100 percent paperless pay by planting a grove of trees in their name through its corporate social responsibility program, the SOLE Paperless Trees Project. #FinancialInclusion #DirectDeposit #PaperlessTrees

About WiseWage: WiseWage is owned by Reinvestment Partners, a non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for economic justice and opportunity. RP does this by providing direct services to People, revitalizing Places and advocating for just Policies. WiseWage's goal is to promote financial security for everyone by connecting them with products that save them time and money. WiseWage does the research, while the employer client benefits. At WiseWage, anyone can obtain a low-cost or free account, regardless of their banking history.

Media Contact:

Taylor Ellsworth
Phone: 971.227.5364
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE SOLE Financial