No Bank Account? No Problem

The notion of working in the same company performing the same role for most of your career is largely a thing of the past. The way we work and get paid has…

The notion of working in the same company performing the same role for most of your career is largely a thing of the past. The way we work and get paid has changed immeasurably over the past 20 years alone. Today, throughout our lives, we tend to have numerous roles with different companies, perhaps even becoming self-employed, working freelance or completely changing career path. As the way we live and work has changed, so too has the way we manage our finances.

Only recently it would have seemed virtually impossible that you could get paid without having a bank account. But even that is no longer the case. Sole traders and small businesses have begun to pay workers, especially part-time and temporary staff, by using a reloadable prepaid debit card. Employers are using these ‘payroll debit cards’ as a way to pay wages of staff without all the administration and costs that can occur when paying temporary or casual workers and migrant workers. For small businesses which need to recruit staff occasionally, a prepaid card is the ideal way to make flexible payments for work provided – especially if these individuals don’t have their own personal bank account.

Payroll Administration

Carrying out payroll administration for members of staff without a bank account can be costly and time-consuming – especially if they are not typical, full-time permanent workers on the payroll. Paying in cash might seem like an obvious solution, but this can be particularly problematic both from a compliance point of view and in terms of security. Meanwhile, cheques are costly to administer and workers can run into real difficulties when it comes to getting them cashed, especially if they don’t have access to a bank account.

Providing staff with a prepaid card, loaded by the employer come payday, is a simple solution and requires much less administration on behalf of the company, or, as is often the case, a sole trader with short-term, flexible staffing requirements. Indeed, in the case of the sole trader, the employer can even ask the workers to set up the prepaid card themselves, reducing administration even further. That’s because most prepaid cards, such as the Suits Me® Mastercard® debit card, require no credit checks, so they can be set up quickly and without excessive documentation or paperwork. And afterwards, wages can be easily transferred to the card via a BACS payment or at a Post Office.

Alternative Banking

There are benefits for the worker too. To begin with, temporary employees, who may have just arrived in the UK, don’t have to go through all the inconvenience and effort of setting up a bank account. In fact, unless, they’ve been in the UK for some time, they may not have the prerequisites to do so, such as a permanent address.

What’s more, carrying around a month’s, or even a week’s wage in cash isn’t advisable from a security point of view, and cashing a cheque without a bank account is invariably going to incur heavy fees and perhaps mean lengthy clearance times. Not ideal for any worker who needs access to their money as soon as possible.

There are other benefits too. Most prepaid cards operate just like typical debit and credit cards. Of course, this largely depends on whether the card is operated through Maestro, Mastercard or the Visa card system, but any prepaid card will be processed in the exact same way as standard cards by most businesses. So, as well as access to cash withdrawals at ATMs throughout the world, the prepaid cardholder also can make purchases from up to 24 million businesses worldwide, including most online retailers.

Suits Me®

All reasons why the Suits Me® Mastercard® card is such a great idea for temporary workers. For more information on Suits Me® and how you can sign up through you’re your recruitment agency, umbrella company or employer contact hello@suitsmecard.com or phone 0330 159 0199.

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A free contactless Mastercard® debit card and access to an online account and mobile app.