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Note: Early Payday is currently in development at Alliant and has not been implemented yet. Stay tuned for an announcement in the coming months so you can take advantage of this feature at Alliant.
If you’re like many people, you eagerly, or perhaps anxiously, await payday. Whether you’re paid weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or on another schedule, seeing that money hit your accounts is always a great feeling. Due to how payroll systems work, however, the money you receive on payday is from the previous week(s) pay period. For example, someone paid every other Friday is receiving their pay from the past two weeks every payday.
If you’ve ever wished you could receive the money you already worked for sooner, Early Payday has you covered. This feature, which is also referred to as early direct deposit by some financial institutions, lets you receive an eligible direct deposit up to two days early. Learn how this feature works, how you can start using it and how it can benefit you.
To understand how Early Payday works, it’s important to understand how direct deposit works. Even with a regularly scheduled direct deposit, employers must send ACH files containing payday information to their employees’ financial institutions several days before the actual payday. This lets financial institutions know who should be paid what amount on what day.
When a financial institution offers Early Payday, they release funds upon receiving the ACH files from employers (or soon after), rather than waiting for the specified payday itself. The timing of an early paycheck, then, will depend primarily on your employer sending their payroll information off to the relevant financial institutions, as the process is relatively simple on the financial institution’s end.
The benefit of receiving your paycheck up to two days earlier is self-evident—who wouldn’t want to get paid earlier? By receiving your paycheck earlier, you can get a head start on paying bills, buying something you’ve had your eye on, or putting money towards your financial goals. Even if you don’t have a specific need to receive your paycheck early, it’s still nice to have access to that money sooner.
Because of the way Early Payday works behind-the-scenes, you don’t have to do anything to receive your paycheck early. In fact, many financial institutions with this feature automatically enroll account holders to the feature. As long as your direct deposit is correctly set up with an account that offers Early Payday, you’re good to go!
Once a financial institution has Early Payday implemented, there’s not much additional work that needs to be done compared to a regular payday. As a result, many financial institutions don’t charge any fees for you to receive your paycheck early. Be aware that while no-fees is the norm, it’s not a universal standard, so double-check with your financial institution that you won’t incur fees by using Early Payday.
Not receiving your paycheck on time can have big consequences on your finances. Early Payday can help alleviate anxious thoughts of that unfortunate situation occurring. When you receive your paycheck early, you know there were no issues with getting paid on time for that pay period.
Some people get excited over the prospect of receiving their paycheck early, but for the wrong reasons. For those who find themselves struggling to make ends meet between paychecks, Early Payday isn’t a solution. While the very first early paycheck will help, every subsequent paycheck will still follow the same pay frequency as before. In other words, someone getting paid every other week will still be getting paid every other week with Early Payday. The first early paycheck will come 12 days after the last normal payday, but the next paycheck will likely come two weeks after that first early check. The pay schedule has essentially just moved up two days permanently, which is certainly nice, but not a solution to financial troubles.
While Early Payday often comes two days early, that’s not a guarantee, and is often out of the hands of your financial institution. If your employer doesn’t submit their payroll information in time, your financial institution may not have enough time to process the files and get you your paycheck two days early. This means your paycheck could arrive one day early or as regularly scheduled. Because of this, you shouldn’t depend on receiving your paycheck early. Treat it as a little bonus instead.
Because Early Payday is often an automatic, no-fee service, there’s little reason not to take advantage of receiving your paycheck early. Some financial institutions with the feature may not even allow opting-out. Assuming you bank somewhere where there are no fees attached to the feature, there are no significant downsides either. So long as you stay on top of your budget and recognize that receiving your paycheck early is never guaranteed, Early Payday will only benefit you.
Early Payday is one of the many exciting features our team is currently developing for our members. Stay tuned for the announcement of the launch and get ahead by setting up direct deposit with your employer into your Alliant accounts. If you’re not sure how to set up direct deposit, check out our FAQ guide.
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