The Overlooked Catalyst Driving Real-Time Payments Demand: The Gig Economy

The gig economy might be a newer phrase, but it is hardly a new concept. By the 1990s, 10% of US workers earned income as contractors, temps, or on-call employees. In the last decade, technology accelerated the growth of the temporary labor movement, helping to pair workers with jobs and facilitate rapid payments. From 2017 to 2021, the number of US gig workers more than tripled, and in the last 12 months, 23 million Americans have earned income through a digital platform.

CNN reported that the uptick in gig workers is “a clear indication of just how many more people use tech platforms to help earn a living”. People are leveraging more tech platforms and apps to accept and complete gigs, and companies are leveraging real-time payments technology to issue faster payments directly to workers.

Building Gig Worker Loyalty

The gig economy is a highly transactional system. Employers have an obligation to make the work cycle fast and seamless to complete the transaction. According to a recent survey from PayQuicker and the Ultimate Gig Research Project, 60% of the gig workforce take jobs from multiple platforms, so completing a gig shift and receiving earnings is critical to attracting workers back.

Creating Management Efficiencies

Short-term contracting opportunities now exist across industries, from ride-sharing and food delivery to professional services. As employers increase their utilization of gig talent, they also need to streamline the management and payment of their influx of gig workers. This may seem like a daunting task, but real-time payments technology can enable employers to optimize efficiencies while decreasing management and cost burdens.

Empowering Flexible Earning Possibilities

PayQuicker’s research finds that 50% of gig workers use the money earned from their gigs to pay household bills, underscoring the critical nature of this compensation. More individuals might consider gig work to earn additional income, if it was feasible to receive their earnings in the frequency, method, and currency they prefer.

As the gig economy overtakes the traditional workforce, the expectation for real-time pay will have far wider impacts, and all business leaders should pay attention.

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