Approximately 10% of the 6,800 US-based staff employed by private, non-profit healthcare network Community Medical Centers (CMC) have utilised the organisation’s payroll loan benefit since its introduction in July 2018.
CMC implemented the payroll loan benefit, provided by Kashable, in July 2018 as part of its voluntary benefits provision, which is supplied by Corestream. The benefit enables staff to access low-cost loans that can be automatically repaid through CMC’s payroll process. Applying and receiving a loan takes approximately three days or less.
The California-based healthcare network introduced Kashable in an effort to help employees better manage their short-term finances and reduce requests for pay advances or loans from employees’ pension plan.
CMC staff showed interest in the benefit when it launched, with 40% opening the initial information email that described the service. Between July 2018 and July 2019, 10% of employees have taken up the loan benefit and 54% are using their payroll loan to pay other debts.
Kashable has been communicated to staff using newsletters, the staff intranet and word of mouth.
Nicole Mebane, benefits manager at CMC, said: “We started seeing a lot of questions come through like ‘How can I get a loan from my pension plan? Can I get a loan from my 403(b) plan? Can I get an advance on my pay check?’ [Employees] were trying to find ways to access short-term cash.
“Kashable has been a lifesaver for our employees and the lower interest rates have helped them get out of bad debt. It’s a smarter financial move for them so it gives them more financial security. They know what’s going to be coming out of their pay checks, so they know it’s not something they’re going to default on. As long as they’re working, it’s going to come out of their check just like other direct deposits.”