NV: Advocacy Letter to Nevada Governor Lombardo in Support of Nevada Senate Bill 290

VIA EMAIL‍

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The Honorable Joe Lombardo
Governor of Nevada
State Capitol Building
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701‍

Re: American Fintech Council (AFC) Support for Senate Bill 290 related to Earned Wage Access (EWA)

Dear Governor Lombardo:

On behalf of the American Fintech Council (AFC), we are writing to strongly support Senate Bill 290 (SB290) that will create a standard for responsible companies offering earned wage access and we recommend you sign this bill into law.

AFC’s mission is to promote an innovative, transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting the responsible growth of lending, fostering innovation in financial technology (fintech), and encouraging sound public policy. AFC members are at the forefront of fostering new consumer financial products and pioneering ways to better serve all consumer segments and geographies. Importantly, our members are lowering the cost of financial transactions, allowing them to help meet the demand for high-quality, affordable products.

AFC represents a variety of business models providing a range of responsible and innovative financial products and services, including members offering earned wage access products in the State of Nevada. What distinguishes AFC as a trade, though, is the high bar we set for our members related to consumer protection and our strenuous support for regulation that facilitates responsible innovation. AFC’s advocacy reflects our members’ commitment to fair, transparent, and responsible financial services and is the reason we testified before the Nevada Legislature in favor of SB290 and urge you to sign it into law.

The nascent EWA industry and its participants provide low cost or no cost access to wages that employees have already earned. According to survey data provided by one of our members, access to earned wage access reduces employee turnover by 50%, employee absenteeism by 26%, and the time to fill open jobs by 52%. Employees are 56% more motivated to pick up extra shifts. Earned wage access also helped consumers avoid and replace more expensive financial strategies, saving EWA users between approximately $600 and $900 per year.

Employees appreciate this new option because in today’s modern economy, Nevada residents, like most Americans, expect life on-demand. In addition, nearly three quarters of Americans today live paycheck to paycheck. But bills and emergencies do not wait every two weeks or once a month for an employer to run payroll. EWA solves these disconnects by facilitating access to already earned wages - not future wages - for a low, flat, ATM-like fee.

SB290 clarifies that EWA is not a loan or credit product. Unlike credit, EWA requires no credit checks, incurs no late fees or penalties, is non-recourse, and does not impact a user’s credit score. The amount of the transaction is later deducted from the employee's paycheck or debited from an employee’s account. Unlike a lender, EWA providers cannot and do not pursue collections of EWA payments if it is not reimbursed. Users are also not reported to credit bureaus.

On behalf of the American Fintech Council, I urge you to sign this critical legislation into law. SB290 will allow workers to voluntarily access wages they’ve already earned on their own schedule and is a safe financial innovation that the people of the state of Nevada deserve. Thank you for your consideration on this matter.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Phil Goldfeder, CEO
American Fintech Council