If a financial emergency strikes – whether that’s essential car repairs or a boiler breakdown – it can sometimes be difficult to know how you’re going to fund it.
The good news is that some banking apps let you get paid a day early, potentially getting you out of a tough spot fast and allowing you to avoid lengthy loan applications, credit checks and interest charges.
Sign up to Monzo and you can take advantage of its early payday feature. To get started, you need to arrange for your salary to be paid into your Monzo account by Bacs. Your salary will then be sent to you at 4pm one business day early. You don't need to sign anything and you can choose which months you want to receive your salary early. As well as your salary, Monzo can advance any other payments by Bacs, including your student loan. Your deposits in Monzo are also protected up to £85,000 under the FSCS, and you can open an account for free.
Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 39% EAR variable.
Pros
Easy to set up
Good for budgeting and categorising spending
Automatic saving feature
Fee-free spending abroad
Slick app with face login
Overdrafts and loans available
Cons
Free ATM withdrawals outside the EEA limited to £200,
£1 fee for depositing cash at PayPoints,
Maximum cash deposit of £1,000 every 6 months
No rewards program
Minimum opening balance
£0
Switch service guarantee
Yes
Account fees
£0
Overseas card transactions
0%
Overseas cash withdrawals
0% conversion fee plus cash fee of 0% on up to £400 per 30 days (3% thereafter)
Get a £20 welcome bonus when you spend your first £20 (T&Cs apply).
Revolut's in-app Early Salary feature is available to all UK-based customers who receive their salary into their Revolut account. All customers will automatically be enrolled in the service which means you can receive your salary one business day earlier than usual. If you don't want to use this, you'll need to opt out by contacting Revolut support through the in-app chat service. Revolut offers 5 different current account plans, one of which has no monthly fee. All plans offer currency exchange and cashback, but other features vary depending on the plan you pick.
Pros
Low overseas fees
Quick sign-up
Earn cashback on spending
Set budgets for financial goals
Virtual cards for online purchases
Easy to transfer money internationally
Linked 'Junior' account available for one child
Cons
1% currency conversion charge on weekend spending abroad
Free cash withdrawals in the UK and abroad both limited to £200 per month
Cannot deposit cash or cheques into the account
Charged a fee to receive your bank card
Minimum opening balance
£0
Account fees
£0
Overseas card transactions
0% Mon-Fri (max. £1,000 per month)
Overseas cash withdrawals
0% Mon-Fri (max. £1,000 per month) conversion fee plus cash fee of £0 up to £200 per month
When your employer sends your salary to your bank account, your bank usually holds the funds until your designated payday.
However, if you use a banking app that offers a pay early feature, this typically means that rather than waiting for the funds to clear, the app makes the funds available in your bank account as soon as it’s aware that the money is coming into the system.
Once it has received this information from your employer, the provider can transfer your salary into your bank account a day early.
What steps do you need to take?
You’ll need to hold a current account with a provider that offers this service to be able to use it. Such providers include Monzo and Revolut. You’ll also need to be receiving your salary into this account.
Depending on the app, you can then choose when you want to get paid early, or it might be done automatically. Revolut, for instance, automatically enrols you into the Early Salary feature to receive your salary one business day earlier than usual. You’ll need to opt out if you don’t want to use it.
Monzo, on the other hand, sends you a notification the afternoon before your payday. As long as you’re paid by Bacs, you can tap through on the app to access the money there and then. What are the downsides? The main downside is that you can only choose to be paid one day early – which isn’t likely to be hugely helpful if your car breaks down in the middle of the month.
You’ll also need to have a bank account with the right provider to be able to use the service.
Bottom line
Getting paid a day early can be useful if money is particularly tight one month, but for most people, it’s unlikely to make a huge difference to their overall financial situation.
Where it could be particularly helpful is if you have a lot of bills that go out on your usual payday, in which case being paid a day early could make things a little less stressful. It could also be useful if your normal payday falls on a weekend, as it could allow you to receive your salary on the Friday rather than the following Monday (or even Tuesday if it’s a bank holiday).
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio
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