What Is an Earned Wage Access Bond and Who Needs One?
Earned wage access (EWA) providers are companies that let employees access wages they've already earned ahead of their regular payday. As such they must register or get licensed in a growing number of states in the US. Many of these states require a surety bond as part of that process, whether you offer consumer-directed wage access (direct to individual users), employer-integrated wage access (through an employer's payroll data), or both.
States with a specific EWA bond requirement include:
| State | Bond Amount |
|---|---|
| Kansas | $100,000 |
| Indiana | $100,000,
up to $250,000 based on volume |
| Nevada | $35,000 |
| South Carolina | $30,000 |
| Washington | $30,000 |
| Wisconsin | $25,000 |
Bond amounts vary significantly from state to state, and not every state with an EWA law requires one. This is a genuinely new and fast-moving area of law. Over half of the states with EWA-specific rules passed them in recent years, and more states are expected to adopt similar bond requirements as the industry grows. Check back here as we add coverage for each new state.
How Much Does an Earned Wage Access Bond Cost?
Your starting premium is typically around 0.75% of your required bond amount. Your exact rate depends mainly on your personal credit history, along with your financial statements and other underwriting factors specific to your state and bond amount.
A low credit score doesn't disqualify you from getting bonded. Through our bad credit bond program, we regularly bond applicants who wouldn't qualify elsewhere.
How to Get Bonded
Bryant Surety Bonds gets you bonded in three steps.
- Complete our online application. It takes just a few minutes.
- Get approved and pay for your bond. We compare your application across 20+ A-rated carriers and issue your bond as soon as you accept a rate.
- We handle your state's electronic filing. Most EWA bonds are filed through NMLS as an Electronic Surety Bond (ESB), so there's no paper form to track down.
Why Do You Need an Earned Wage Access Bond?
States that regulate earned wage access typically treat it as its own category, separate from traditional lending, but that status still comes with real financial responsibility. You're determining how much of a consumer's paycheck they've actually earned and advancing that amount, often on a nonrecourse basis, meaning you can't pursue the consumer if something goes wrong on your end. A surety bond guarantees you can meet that responsibility. If your state's regulator determines you've violated its earned wage access law, your surety may be required to pay valid claims up to your bond's full amount, and you're responsible for reimbursing the surety for anything paid out.
Get Bonded With Bryant Surety Bonds
Bryant Surety Bonds is licensed in all 50 states and works with over 20 A-rated surety carriers to get you bonded quickly, regardless of your credit history.
Questions about your earned wage access bond? Call us at 866.450.3412.
