South Africa’s frontline workers are caught in a credit crunch that punishes them for being poor. Imagine earning under R10,000 a month and running out of money for food or transport two weeks into your pay cycle.

With nowhere else to turn, you borrow R500 from a mashonisa. By payday, you probably owe an extra R200-R250 on what you borrowed, and getting back to black is even harder.

This is the reality for millions of deskless workers excluded from formal finance and forced to pay more for the little they have.

Excluded from formal finance, trapped in debt

Deskless workers like security guards, cleaners and retail clerks (and others without office jobs) often lack the financial footprint that banks require for affordable credit.

Without a payslip, credit history or collateral, they are invisible to formal lenders. As a result, they’re pushed to informal lending at extortionate rates. In some townships, mashonisas charge 30–50% interest per month. Annualised, this is well over 300% (The Daily Friend)

This poverty premium means the poorest pay the highest prices for money. A Jem survey of South African deskless workers found 44% run out of money every month, and 97% of those who borrow before payday need the money for essentials like food, transport or electricity. They aren’t taking loans for luxuries. They’re borrowing to survive.

Predatory lending exploits this desperation. Many deskless workers describe being stuck in a perpetual cycle: each month’s end brings new loans to cover last month’s gaps.

Some turn to mashonisas and payday loans when short on cash, often with huge interest. Others borrow from family or co-workers, who also tend not to lend for free, straining social ties. Fees pile on fees. A worker might pay back R750 on a R500 loan, losing multiple days of wages just to get the money they need in the moment.

By the time payday arrives, much of their pay is already spoken for by creditors and the cycle resumes.

Paying more for less: the premium of poverty

It’s a tragic irony that those with the least pay the most. This poverty premium runs through many expenses for earners of between R6,000–R10,000 per month, many of whom are supporting extended families on a single modest salary. But it bites hardest when it comes to credit.

Formal bank loans or credit cards charge around 20% annual interest. But a loan shark’s 30-50% monthly interest means a worker could pay back double what they borrowed in just a few months (The Daily Friend).

Over a year, mashonisa rates can exceed 600% APR. In other words, a deskless worker might effectively spend one out of every two rand on the cost of credit.

These costs compound the injustice that sees the working class underpaid and financially fragile. Research shows many sit in that sub-R10,000 per month bracket (IOL) and, as mentioned, a significant percentage are the sole breadwinner in their households.

The numbers speak for themselves. Nearly 72% of deskless workers are stressed about their finances and 71% have less than R500 in emergency savings. With no cushion, any unexpected expense – a child’s illness, a transport fare hike – forces them into debt.

Earned Wage Access: not a silver bullet, but a sustainable lifeline

There are promising solutions. One is Earned Wage Access (EWA), a benefit that lets workers access a portion of their earned wages before payday without loans or high fees. Instead of borrowing R500 at a predatory cost, an employee can withdraw R500 of their own earned money and pay a modest withdrawal fee to do so.

The impact is enormous. Rather than paying R200–R250 to borrow R500, workers using EWA typically pay R20-50 to access that cash, depending on the provider. That’s the difference between a manageable deduction and a crushing debt spiral.

In Jem’s Deskless Worker Pulse report, 72% of EWA users reported worrying less about money. Only 7% still used loan sharks regularly and 58% used EWA exclusively when they needed cash. Given a fair alternative, workers clearly prefer to move away from predatory lenders. Many of them just don’t have the option.

EWA is usually funded through employers or third-party services and offered as a benefit. It’s a modern version of an advance on wages, typically accessed via a third-party app. Some providers, like Jem, deliver the service on the most ubiquitous platform of all: WhatsApp.

Employers as change-makers

Why should employers care? Because financial stress doesn’t stay outside the workplace. It shows up in-store and on-site. When 72% of your workforce is anxious about money, productivity, morale and retention suffer. Debt-strained employees are more likely to quit, miss work or underperform.

Employers who offer tools like Earned Wage Access, financial literacy workshops, or low-cost loan alternatives see clear returns: lower turnover, better focus and improved loyalty.

As Jem co-founder Caroline van der Merwe puts it, “Deskless workers aren’t asking for perks. They’re asking for fairness, parity and a reasonable route out of financial obscurity. It’s really not a lot to ask.”

No one should pay 50% interest just to buy groceries or get to work. The working class credit crunch is a human problem. It demands human-centred solutions. Employers are uniquely positioned to act.

By embracing innovations like Earned Wage Access and advocating for fair finance, businesses can help frontline workers escape debt traps and regain their financial footing.

It’s time to end the paradox of paying more for having less. Let’s give South Africa’s deskless workers the financial dignity they deserve.