Branch Introduces High-Yield Savings for Workers With Variable Weekly Pay

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For workers whose pay can swing from one week to the next, the challenge of saving is not always whether to save at all. More often, it is figuring out how much can be set aside and still be left untouched.

Branch Founder and CEO Atif Siddiqi said that issue is common among the hourly, tipped and gig workers the company serves. Their earnings can rise and fall with shifts, schedules and demand, while higher prices continue to squeeze what is left after basic expenses.

“They have very few ways to set money aside,” Siddiqi told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

Branch is offering one more option. The company announced that it has launched High Yield Savings, beginning with Uber drivers and couriers through the Uber Pro Card. Users can earn 3.25% APY with a $500 average daily balance. If the balance falls below that level, the account earns 1.25% starting with just one cent.

The account has no minimum opening deposit. Just as important for workers without steady pay, the top rate does not depend on a recurring direct deposit or a required amount of card spending. Some high-yield savings accounts do impose those conditions, which can be difficult for people whose income changes from week to week.

“As their income fluctuates, they don’t need to worry about a direct deposit,” Siddiqi told Webster, referring to Branch’s new product.

What happens after the money reaches savings is another piece of the equation.

Siddiqi wants users to be able to save in relatively small amounts instead of waiting until their earnings or schedules become more predictable.

He said the goal is for workers to reach a point where they can say, “I’ve not only saved money, but I’m watching it compound at a decent rate.”

Users can automate deposits daily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly. That gives compounding, long praised by Warren Buffett as a wealth-building tool, a role in household finances even when savings grow gradually.

Saving Without Giving Up the Cash

Often, the strain for this group is less about income than timing. Webster said the pressure comes from wanting to save without being caught short at the end of the month.

Siddiqi said users can transfer money between checking and savings if their cash position changes. There are no limits on moving funds back when a liquidity need arises.

Uber illustrates the model.

A driver earns through the platform but also faces costs tied directly to generating that income. Fuel, maintenance, insurance and taxes all compete with personal spending and savings for the same dollars. In that sense, Webster noted, an Uber driver can operate much like a small business managing working capital.

Siddiqi said the uneven schedules of drivers and couriers made Uber a natural starting point for the rollout. The savings account is being added to the Uber Pro Card, and Branch plans to bring High Yield Savings to its own app and other Branch-powered applications later on.

The launch also gives Branch a way to keep money in place after it arrives.

The company has built its worker relationship around helping earnings move quickly into accounts. Savings adds the opposite behavior, encouraging some of those dollars to stay put. As Webster pointed out, Branch is giving customers a touchpoint on both sides of the liquidity equation: they can access money when they need it and build balances when they do not. Siddiqi said the savings account is separate from the checking account used to receive pay, and deposits are held at a sponsor bank.

Credit is next on the list. Siddiqi said it is “definitely on the roadmap,” pointing to a user base that includes many thin-file or credit-invisible consumers. He said Branch is looking at ways to offer mainstream credit products at fair prices.

For now, savings fills an important gap. It gives workers a place to put money when they have it, while recognizing that with variable income, savings may sometimes need to be used again.

Watch the full interview with Atif Siddiqi to learn more about:

• What Branch is seeing from early use of automatic savings.
• How workers choose among daily, weekly and monthly contribution schedules.
• How the cash needs of Uber drivers differ from those of other hourly and tipped workers.
• Why Branch has put credit on its product roadmap.