Humanforce has announced its acquisition of the Australian operations of Wagestream (formerly Earnd), Australia’s largest provider of on-demand pay (also known as earned wage access).
Founded in 2018 as a charity-backed and mission-led financial wellbeing organisation, Earnd set out to change the way employees interact with their money, and ultimately change the way employers deliver financial wellbeing tools to ensure a positive impact on their employees’ lives.
After only four years in operation, the company boasts well-known customer brands including BPAY, Hungry Jack’s, Carnival Cruises, JD Sports and Accor.
This is Humanforce’s second acquisition since leading technology-focused private equity firm Accel-KKR bolstered its investment in the business with its second round of funding in May, 2022. Over the last three years, Humanforce has delivered SaaS bookings growth at a CAGR of 76%.
Clayton Pyne, Chief Executive Officer of Humanforce said, “Arguably, deskless workforces were the hardest hit since the pandemic, and they’re still struggling today – 3 years on”.
“Businesses continue to grapple with talent attraction and retention, while deskless workers are battling rising inflation and interest rates, alongside traditionally lower rates of pay than their white-collar counterparts,” said Pyne
“Businesses that can provide innovative, low risk, high impact solutions to alleviate their employees’ number one concern – financial stress – is a real game changer in today’s environment”.
“Our acquisition of Wagestream Australia aligns with our purpose of empowering deskless workforces with the right tools and technologies to make work easier and life better,” he said
The financial wellbeing offerings which include earned wage access, automated savings support, and financial education & coaching have already gained momentum among Humanforce customers, with uptake of the integrated workforce management & financial wellbeing solution increasing by 71% per month over the last 8 months of this fiscal year.
This is no surprise given employers are feeling the strain of financial wellbeing in their workforce. AMP’s Financial Wellness in Australia 2022 research estimates that the economy-wide costs of financial stress is $66.8bn – twice the 2020 result.
Earnd founder, Josh Vernon stated “Financial stress is an issue that impacts most of the working population, but it’s heightened for deskless workers as their earnings are typically irregular and therefore, are often ineligible for traditional financial support,”
“With the combined power of Humanforce’s integrated workforce management and payroll solution, employees can manage their shifts, rosters, track their pay, and manage their financial wellbeing with complete transparency through a single, unified Humanforce solution.” said Vernon
“Humanforce is fully committed to helping Wagestream Australia customers continue to deliver a positive employee experience. We are thrilled to join forces to alleviate employees’ financial burden while helping businesses beat the talent crunch, so they can focus on improved productivity, compliance confidence and cost control”, Pyne added.
The acquisition is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval and other customary conditions.
