Money matters: Is financial wellness tech the hottest employee perk of 2025?

While people around the world celebrated the New Year, a labor-related lawsuit in the U.S. drew the attention of HR leaders: a class-action suit seeking $100 million in damages. Southwest Airlines workers, primarily those performing manual tasks, claim they have been denied the weekly paychecks required by law. The lawsuit alleges a violation of a New York state statute due to the bi-weekly payment schedule currently in place.

Although this complaint is rooted in a specific labor law, the idea of being paid more frequently than bi-weekly or semi-monthly is gaining appeal among workers across various sectors. Financial flexibility and wellness tools such as on-demand pay and earned wage access are becoming significant levers for employee benefits, and tech firms are responding with innovative options to meet this growing demand, according to industry analysts.

Financial wellness perks and employee engagement

Fintech entrepreneur Jason Lee notes that more HR leaders are strategically leveraging financial wellness benefits to boost employee engagement without relying solely on wage increases. This area is a hotspot for HR leaders right now, with employee engagement appearing as a top-five concern in HR Executive’s recent What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? research.

For many businesses, increasing wages isn’t a viable way to keep top performers in their roles right now. With 21 states and 48 cities and counties implementing minimum wage increases at the start of 2025—according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank Economic Policy Institute—payroll budgets may already be pinched, limiting funds available for merit-based raises.

Lee, founder of the enterprise employee rewards company Salt Labs—named one of the 2024 Top HR Tech Products of the Year and recently acquired by the digital bank Chime—explains, “If someone doesn’t feel financially healthy, they will blame their wage.” He believes employers can help employees meet their financial goals without exclusively resorting to higher pay by incorporating money-boosting tools into benefits packages.

Workers are paying attention, citing benefits as a solid reason to choose their workplace. According to data from HCM firm isolved, among employees who changed jobs in 2024, benefits were the No. 1 issue sending them out the door, based on Voice of the Workforce research on 1,127 full-time U.S. employees.

Balancing business budgets and employee finances

In 2025, economic conditions are prompting C-suite executives to take “magnifying glasses” to the ROI of benefits packages, according to Lee. On the flip side, employees are looking for ways to strengthen their financial footprints. This environment is ripe for new benefits that help both employees and employers maximize money and aim for financial stability.

A survey conducted by the workforce payments platform Branch, involving over 3,000 hourly workers, found that four out of five respondents reported fluctuations in their weekly pay. This inconsistency can be a challenge for cash flow management, which could hinder long-term financial goals. The study also highlighted that the top three financial priorities for these workers are improving their credit scores, building an emergency fund and paying off credit card debt.

For many workers, financial planning depends on more than earning a paycheck. While salary remains a key factor for job seekers, perks related to financial wellness are increasingly influential, particularly for Gen Z workers. A November 2024 ScholarshipOwl survey of nearly 13,000 college students and high school seniors found that more than 90% said job perks would influence their decision to accept a job offer. The top two perks identified were tuition reimbursement or student loan assistance and retirement savings benefits, underscoring the importance of money-focused offerings.

Rebecca Wettemann, CEO of the industry analyst firm Valoir, predicts that employers will increasingly adopt technologies to support employees’ financial wellness in 2025 in response to employee and candidate interest.

“We’re definitely seeing an increased interest in financial wellness technologies in 2025, as employers recognize that financial wellness is a key leading indicator of mental health, productivity and absenteeism,” she says.

Growing evidence of fintech for the HR market

Salt, Lee’s enterprise employee rewards platform, was founded in 2022, making it relatively new to the HR tech landscape. It gained traction that led to an acquisition by Chime— which Forbes reports is the biggest digital bank in the U.S.—in less than two years. He says industry investments and shifting economics over the past decade have bolstered start-ups and spurred innovation among established HR tech companies.

According to Wettemann, the growing interest in financial wellness benefits extends beyond hourly workers and on-demand pay—two areas that initially drove the development of workplace financial wellness technology.

She notes that employers now can choose applications that help employees address debt, build healthier financial habits and manage money more effectively. Additionally, new platforms are emerging for employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts, tax guidance and financial coaching. These areas are key focuses for leaders prioritizing employee financial wellness as part of their benefits strategies, according to Wettemann.

For example, Dayforce recently reported strong growth for its Wallet product, which enables on-demand pay through an app that also provides cash-back rewards. In its Q3 2024 earnings report, Dayforce announced that Wallet had delivered $5 billion through on-demand pay, reaching this milestone within six months of surpassing $4 billion in July 2024.

According to Aaron Fox, vice president of Dayforce Wallet and head of customer success at eloomi (acquired by Dayforce in 2024), the number of customers using Dayforce Wallet increased by approximately 22% year-over-year, reflecting increasing demand for the solution.

He says this benefit resonates with workers—according to a recent Dayforce Wallet user survey, 82% of users said that on-demand pay is an employer benefit that’s important to them. “What’s more, organizations are now expanding their financial wellness benefits from on-demand pay to new features like goal setting and savings,” says Fox.

Another instance is the employee financial wellness tool Rain, which has rapidly expanded over 200% in the past year from 630,000 to 2 million users, according to a company spokesperson. In April 2024, Rain partnered with Marqeta to launch the Rain Card—a branded debit card for earned wage access—and expand into the healthcare, education and hospitality sectors. In September 2024, a partnership with Workday enabled integration of Rain’s earned wage experience with Workday’s HCM system.

Additionally, at HR Tech last year, Paychex announced the launch of Paychex Flex Perks, a solution offering voluntary benefits like earned wage access, pet insurance and financial wellness. This was one of the biggest announcements of HR Tech, according to conference chair Steve Boese. The Flex Perks platform allows businesses of all sizes to enhance existing benefits or provide employee benefits for the first time, serving millions of U.S. workers and hundreds of thousands of customers, says Boese.

Fox from Dayforce predicts that the financial wellness trend will persist in 2025, driven by workers choosing employers that prioritize employee wellbeing. Wettemann agrees, citing a benefit to the organizational bottom line. “There’s a real financial return to many employers in having employees being able to show up and be their most productive at work,” she says, “rather than worrying about how they will get there or pay their bills.”