Wagestream has secured £15 million in its latest funding round from Balderton Capital and Northzone, taking total fundraising to £40 million.

The social impact FinTech aims to fight payday poverty by allowing employers to offer workers the option to draw down their salary early and access earned income in real time for a flat fee of £1.75. It is now used by more than 80 businesses across the UK and Ireland, with more than 125,000 workers having access via the Wagestream app.

Wagestream said it would use the funding to continue scaling the company and drive its mission to end in-work poverty, eradicate payday loans and destroy the ‘poverty premium’, whereby people on low incomes pay more for a range of essential products and services such as insurance, energy and credit.

This latest venture capital round comes after earlier investments from co-founding investors QED and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the London Co-investment Fund and Village Global, in addition to a wholesale funding facility of up to £25 million from specialist bank Shawbrook.

Peter Briffett, chief executive and co-founder of Wagestream, said: “The antiquated monthly pay cycle inflicts huge financial damage on household finances and its days are numbered – too many people are pushed into a corner by in-work poverty and forced into the hands of payday lenders and high-cost credit.”

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