Umbra Capital Partners’ portfolio company Hastee is enabling over 100,000 workers, including the NHS, care home and manufacturing sectors, across 400 businesses, to access their wages ahead of pay day, free of charge.
Hastee has decided to make its services available for free for a six-month period to all staff deemed crucial to the UK’s response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, including the NHS, police and fire services. And, services will also be free for all users across the UK for the next three months.
The platform has already reported a 22 per cent week on week increase in usage, as workers access their money ahead of pay day to stock up on the essentials.
Umbra arranged and invested in a £200m bespoke debt facility earlier this year for Hastee, whose award-winning app gives workers access to a portion of their earned wages before pay day. Umbra is also a significant minority equity investor and debt adviser to the company.
The Hastee platform, which supports staff at NHS Trusts; one of Europe’s largest food producers, Moy Park; one of Europe’s largest bar and restaurant groups, Mitchells & Butlers and a number of care home providers is always free to employers – and allows staff to access up to 50 per cent of their salaries before pay day each month for a minimal 2.5 per cent transaction fee. The first £100 withdrawal is always free of fees to everyone – however Hastee are now waiving all fees for critical workers for six months and supporting all users, across the UK for three months to help provide access to earned pay and financial wellbeing as the coronavirus takes hold across the country.
James Herbert, Founder and CEO, Hastee: “We want to support the most important members of the workforce to focus on the enormous task at hand – whether it be treating patients in our hospitals or ensuring our food supplies remain consistent as we prepare for further restrictive measures to take hold. By waiving all fees for six months for critical staff and three months for every other business, who will need huge support to get through this, we hope we can at least take some of the financial pressure off those people who are so essential to the overall wellbeing of everyone else.”
Charles Gallagher-Powell, Partner, Umbra and Board Member, Hastee: “Hastee’s decision to waive fees for frontline workers, as well as supporting all companies during this global pandemic, illustrates the firm’s ethical and responsible stance towards business, which is one of many factors that attracted us to invest in Hastee and to offer our continuing support.”
Recent news coverage:
Real Deals – 7 April 2020 – Talya Misiri
Umbra Capital Partners’ portfolio company Hastee has removed business fees for its services for over 100,000 workers.
https://realdeals.eu.com/article/umbra-capitals-hastee-removes-business-fees
